Star Fox: Descent
by MarkNicholsonV2
Summary: Five years have past since the Angler Blitz, since Star Fox witnessed the purge of Venom, and since Fox McCloud had to say goodbye to his treasured love: Krystal. Guilt plagues him, fear dwells in him, and peace is something he has long lost. Now, the fallen entity has awakened; and it will pit Fox against every terror that has ever flooded his mind and chilled his blood.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Darkness encased everything. Not the smallest beam of light penetrated it, not a feature could be made out. All that was known about the darkness was the quiet, placid inhale, and the powerful, vociferous exhale of something breathing. The sound was perfectly repetitive. It did not slow nor did it hasten; it held its rhythm.

Without warning, moving metal was heard and a large, wide door began to rise and cycle into the ceiling above it; allowing a horizontal line of crimson light to spread across a lustrous metal floor. The darkness evaporated with every inch of light the rising door let in, exposing a tall, brawny beast. The creature held a male figure, and was dressed from the neck down in a matte black exosuit that displayed every muscle bursting from his body. His head was covered by a robust mask of the same color. All that could be discerned of the being's species was from the shape of his mask, holding a burly, midsized snout and two short, round tipped ears.

The brute stepped outside once the door had finished lifting; completely unaffected by the choking hot, contaminated atmosphere the planet now contained. In his right hand he held a high caliber, laser sniper rifle. He lifted the rifle up to grasp its barrel in his left hand, gently rubbing his thumb against a countless amount of tally marks that had been engraved into it.

Then the beast spoke. His rumbling, distinct growl added power to every word. "Another tick I'll get to add to you, my angel." His left hand trailed up the barrel to the body of the sniper, where further ticks had been carved into intended locations. The beast looked up at the landscape ahead of him. "Once more, we have been granted permission to hunt." His left hand grasped the charging handle of the rifle, his lips falling silent as his thoughts carried on. _Such a shame he has to remain alive, this one._ He pulled the charging handle to the rear, and the rifle gave off a noise similar to an electric charge; indicating the rifle had extracted an amount of energy from the power cell inserted in the weapon. _I hate tagging and bagging my prey._ He slid it forward again, proceeded by a sound similar to before, only at a different pitch; indicated the extracted energy was ready to be discharged from the rifle. _I hope his skill will make up for my lost joy. _The being lifted the sniper's scope up to his masked eye, checking its sights. _I detest when my quarry is easy to take. _After a couple quick adjustments, he satisfyingly lowed his rifle to a patrol ready position. _Maybe this one will earn a decent spot on my angel's frame. _

The beast thought of his large trophy count he had obtained from the spoils of the war. He had hunted targets of all shapes and sizes, as well as varying skill levels. He let out an amplified chuckle as he thought of how few rose above the average hindrance. Most of his prey he considered a waste of his time. Only a handful of the once risen militia, as well as the targets of his off-planet scouting missions, had fed his lust for a challenge. He gazed down at his weapon. _I still dream of the one who earns the right to rest his soul on her trigger._

The beast refocused on the area ahead of him. _But, no more lusts._ He drew in a deep breath. _It's time. _He braced himself, then released a loud, thunderous roar that echoed for miles in all directions. _The hunt has begun. _He took off running towards his instructed destination. _I am coming for you, McCloud._


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Face it Fox, we've been hoaxed; again." Falco grumbled, wanting nothing more than to turn his arwing around and return to the Great Fox II.

Fox McCloud's frustration was growing by the second as he cruised over planet Fichina's icy surface in his own arwing. He eyed a middle aged pug dressed in a green space combat jumpsuit via a video conference on the HUD (heads up display) of the transparent, neon green eyepiece that extended from his matte grey headset wrapped around both sides of his head, ending a couple centimeters past his medium sized, pointed ears, as well as the top of his skull, ending a few centimeters away from his forehead. "We have your transmission on our ship's log. It clearly identifies Sergeant Rufflin as the creator and obvious sender of the message!"

A young golden retriever dressed in similar attire, as the pug he stood next to, of a blue coloration stepped back in bewilderment; his eyes searching for an explanation within himself.

The pug spoke in defense of the retriever. "I too am very disturbed by this recording. I'll give a copy to the intelligence field and have them start analyzing it right away, but Sergeant Rufflin had nothing to do with this. We have security footage that shows him leading a physical training session at the same time as_ your_ footage's data claims it was recorded. I can also assure you that there is no threat on Fichina or this military outpost. Especially one as serious as your transmission described."

Fox's frustration erupted into fury. "I dragged my team all the way out here to respond to the call, I _will not_ turn around without answers!"

The pug leaned in toward the camera that allowed him to view Fox, staring him dead in the eye and speaking in a warning tone. "Make a demand like that again, _mercenary_, and I will have my airmen physically escort you, and your team, off of this planet. You have your answer, there is _nothing_ terrorizing Fichina. Andross is dead. So is his grandson, and the planet which they both had resided on. Accept it." With that, the pug disappeared from the HUD of Fox's headset. Communications had been terminated.

….

Fox slid his bedroom door shut behind him. He had kept himself together the whole way back to the Great Fox II, the team's latest mother ship; but now he was alone. Fox grabbed a pillow off of his bed and slammed it onto the floor, kneeled, and threw fist after fist into it; driving each one to the point where his knuckles could clearly feel the metal surface on the other side. He'd slow only to thrust one of he's knees into the side of the pillow with everything he had, between blows. Once Fox had burned himself out, he wrapped the flattened plush around his snout and screamed as long and hard as he could.

He wished he could stop time, tear apart everything around him, be as loud as he wanted, then reverse it and make it so it never happened. For now, however, beating and yelling into his pillow would have to do. His fits of rage felt childish enough, he didn't need the whole team knowing about them.

Once Fox's lungs had expelled all the oxygen they could, he sat up and panted deeply and tensely. Falco's words rang in his head. _'You're losing it Fox! You've dragged us to _every_ corner of the galaxy, responding to _every_ little sign of danger that's linked to what happened two years ago. TWO YEARS AGO! I'm done! The whole teams done! Next time you want to check out a distress call, you're on your own!' _

The rest of the team had tried to stand up for Fox and support him, but he knew that deep down, they felt the same way. _They want to quit just as much as he does… _Lifting his shoulders with an inhale, then letting them fall with a heartbroken sigh, Fox slowly got to his feet and removed his white and grey soft shell jacket that he always wore over his olive green, sleeveless tactical combat shirt, accompanied by a pair of cargo pants of the same color, and a dark red, black pattern shemagh worn around his neck. He tossed away the jacket before he pulled off his headset, setting it on a meter-high filing cabinet he used as a nightstand. He finished by removing a grey hand-blaster holster, occupied by his laser pistol, he had strapped to his right leg and brown belt, and carelessly set it on the floor next to his bed. With that, he turned away from and fell, back first, onto his bed; careless to the feeling of his knee high, plastic reinforced black leather, dark red carbon fiber armored boots still on his feet.

The thought of losing his team terrified him. Throughout its lifespan, Star Fox had consisted of Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad, R.O.B., Falco Lombardi, and Fox McCloud himself; a brownish orange fox with a pointed white highlight running between his ears and down towards his mid length snout that widened towards his face, white fur overlaying his muzzle, chest, and abdomen, along with a white tipped tail.

Peppy, a grayish brown rabbit with a white muzzle, was a skilled pilot, former partner and close friend to Fox's father, and Fox's mentor. He was always there to give Fox advice whenever it was needed. Peppy soon became like a father to him, someone he could learn things from and trust to keep himself on the right track.

Slippy, a short, hefty, green frog with a white lower jaw, also held a close relationship with Fox. They were best friends since childhood and attended the Cornerian Flight academy together. During their education, Slippy displayed extraordinary skill as a mechanic and inventor. When Fox dropped out of the academy to fill his deceased father's shoes as leader of the legendary Star Fox team, he begged Slippy to come with him. Both past and present, Fox knew he could always rely on him to create something to use against their enemies in order to gain the upper hand, as well as repair any damages their spacecraft vessels might have sustained and keep up with any maintenance needed. Above everything, Fox knew he couldn't stand to part with the only real friend that stuck with him during a dark time in his life.

R.O.B., a four-limbed robot, was the Great Fox I and II's primary pilot and the team's mechanical buddy. He could control the ship, manage any computerized information on board, and utilize the vessel's defenses and fire power.

Then you had Falco, a lowlife gang leader that the Star Fox team decided to take in due to his incredible piloting skills. He was a tall, blue falcon with red and orange feathers intermixed around his eyes. Falco never revealed why he agreed to step down from his position of authority and join Star Fox. When asked, "Eh, the money's better." was always his response. Fox never bought it; he could sense something else had been the cause. Eventually the real reason was exposed during a run in with Falco's old gang not long after the Lylat wars.

It was discovered that Falco had been tired of constantly rescuing one of his team members. _The lazy bird, _Fox had thought to himself; though it mattered little to him. Falco turned out to be a very skilled wing man, knowledgeable in just about every trick in the book. He even outdid Fox on some occasions, which led to a friendly rivalry between the two pilots.

Since the death of his parents, Fox's team had taken the place of his family. He learned to rely on them when he needed strength and guidance; they helped him realize he was never alone. Without his team, Fox knew his failure would've come a long time ago. Time and time again they fought side by side and achieved victory over their adversaries, and once more with the recent defeat of the Angler army. Now here he was, abusing their loyalty by wearing them down from his own paranoia; paranoia that was created from an everlasting fear that burned inside him after every victory. _How long until Lylat's attacked by an old or foreign enemy that would end its existence? When will someone appear that neither me nor my team could not handle? An enemy that would destroy us and finally gain the title of Lylat's conqueror?_

Fox was thankful for his victories. Thankful that every time danger arose the Star Fox team was able to rise to the challenge and give the galaxy its times of peace, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it wouldn't stay that way; he knew his luck was running out. _Just keep trying… Save Lylat whenever possible, and wait for the fateful day when I fail. Fail the galaxy, fail the citizens that inhibit it, fail my team… _Fox rolled onto his side right side, facing the wall his bed paralleled; trying to push the fear to the back of his mind, but to no prevail. _You've already failed one… _

Throughout the years they had gained and lost additional team members, the most memorable being the lovely vixen, Krystal. Painful sorrow joined Fox's fears at the very thought of her. He had first met her on planet Sauria, also known as Dinosaur Planet, during the Saurian crises. In an attempt to save Sauria, she fell into a trap created by a murderous conqueror known as Andross. When the Star Fox team also arrived to assist the planet, Fox sensed her telepathic cries for help and rescued her. He would never forget the first moment he laid eyes on her, she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen! Soft, groomed, royal blue fur encompassed her thin, gracefully curved body and her long, bushy tail. The hair on her scalp grew to a feminine length and flowed around her mid-sized, tapered ears, then continued down her head smooth as a stream; ending at her jaw line. A pair of vast, vibrant, sapphire blue eyes shone forth from her rounded, delicate face that was covered in short, snow white fur. Fur of the same color stretched over her round, full breasts and continued down to her flat, well sculpted abdomen with a set of hips identical to an hourglass. _If beauty had a name… _Fox thought to himself, clenching the side of his mattress in agony. _It would be you…_

Krystal had decided to join up with Star Fox after her rescue from Sauria and had stayed with them for years. She was very useful to the team: her telepathic abilities allowed her to get a better picture of what dangers they would be up against before they went head on with them, figure out weaknesses in any enemy they faced, and sense nearby distress calls that were unable to reach the team by radio; as well as send out her own. Along with Krystal's continuous assistance, Fox eventually found himself in love with her. Her beauty was the bait, but her personality was the hook. _I could TALK to her! _

Fox dreamily recalled the hours they would spend conversing about nearly anything that came to mind; it didn't matter when or where. Krystal seemed to warm up to him as fast as he warmed up to her. Her mind was such a delightful mystery. Whenever Fox grew silent over a loss of topics, she could come up with the most amusing subjects to discuss. Her imagination was wondrous as a youngling, always playfully believing in the most impossible things. Fox smiled as he remembered what she would think of. _She pitied inanimate objects, liked to pretend they could actually feel emotion and pain. She'd even imitate certain things she came across that amused her, thinking she'd become them. She also loved clouds... wanted to ride them! And how her eyes would light up when she talked about stars… _She had been among stars once in her past, before joining Star Fox. It wasn't long until Fox learned, from her, that she had suffered a worse fate than he had. Fox cringed in remembrance. Every time he thought of her loss, he felt pathetic for _ever_ mourning over his own. _I had only lost my parents... _Fox closed his eyes; recalling their conversation.

Krystal had told him her story one night in the Great Fox hanger. Fox found her sitting on the wing of one of the team's Starfighters, holding in her lap a gold staff with a triangular head containing a slender purple gem in its center, and a light blue cylindrical gem at the staff's end. Dark purple vines snaked along the staff's handle, tapering off at both ends. Krystal was staring past the hanger opening that led into space, looking out upon the innumerable amount of stars. Her excitement upon returning to the blue burning rocks, being able to fly among them every day, was just as genuine as the day she first saw them; she took every opportunity to be as close to them as she could.

"They were all I had when I'd lost everything else…" She told Fox as he climbed onto the wing and sat about a meter from her side. Her voice was so still, soft, and sweet; yet in her tone, Fox heard the grave sorrow that her aching heart could not hide.

Krystal was born and raised on a planet known as Cerinia: a green, lush, forested planet untouched by animal engineering. Her kind were woodland born creatures, dominantly populated by deer, wolves, bears, and foxes. "It's hard…" She said as she gazed beyond the stars into her own thoughts. "I feel so different from everyone else. My people all displayed vibrant fur and skin colors and patterns; we wore them proudly! Now… I feel cornered by every stare I get walking down the street."

Fox frantically searched for words to boost her confidence without creating an uncomfortable tension. _It's because you're so freaking beautiful, they hate you for it! Wait, shut up Fox! She can read your thoughts! _Fox searched her expression for any changes, and found some relief that she seemed oblivious. He finally decided to settle for, "You shouldn't. Your people sound incredible! Any judgmental glare you get is just jealousy."

Krystal's eyes lit up a little at his comment. She met his eyes as she continued. "_I_ thought so. We all also had our own psychic abilities, some could even develop multiple powers. I've only ever known telepathy, but I think I've gotten pretty good at it." She said, biting her lip and moving her shoulders in a wave like motion.

Fox swallowed. _That's what scares me…_ That instant, Krystal looked at him curiously. His heart stopped.

"Do you think I'm good at it?"

His heart resumed at its heightened pace as Fox fought the dryness in his throat. "You've certainly always been accurate with any enemy intelligence you've collected, and if it weren't for you contacting me, I never would have found you." He finished with an awkward smile.

Krystal's excitement grew a little. "And I'm glad you found me, I think I've really found a home with you guys;" She grabbed her own upper arm before adding shyly, "As long as you're okay with me being here…"

Fox nearly turned red from nerves. "I-" Fox stopped himself, clearing his tightening throat as an excuse. "We're happy to have you, as long as you'll stay?"

Krystal smiled and looked down at her dangling feet. "I shall." Then the smile slowly faded.

Fox's embarrassment was replaced with concern. "What's wrong Krystal?"

Krystal swallowed, taking a few moments before she answered. "I'll just… always miss them… I'll never be able to forget their last moment."

Fox involuntarily fought the urge to place his hand on her shoulder. "What happened to them?"

Krystal took a slow, deep breath before looking back up at the stars. "Andross' forces invaded our planet when I was fourteen years old, using our home for its natural resources. My daddy kept me and my mother hidden away in underground caverns while they were there. A year passed before the day came when my daddy returned in a panic that the planet was about to be abandoned by Andross' army and destroyed. He wouldn't give us any details; he was in too much of a hurry to get us out. He helped both my mom and I pack whatever food, water, clothing, and weapons we could carry before heading out to a nearby enemy camp he knew of. My daddy had been studying the technology of the invading, uniformed, homogenous lizards that enslaved my home; he knew enough to operate one of the troop carriers or small cargo ships to get me and my mom to safety." Here Krystal paused as she closed her eyes, attempting to hold back her coming tears. Fox waited in silence, letting her choose whether or not she would go on.

"We were discovered upon sneaking onto one of the cargo ships." She opened her eyes and continued, "I had already climbed in when I heard my daddy shout to my mom to take cover." Krystal closed her eyes tight again, fighting the tears; her voice was already very shaken. "The next thing I heard was laser blasts riddling into the side of the vessel, as well as a…" The tears finally began leaking through, "a piercing wail from my mom." She paused again, allowing a few drops to slide down and soak into her furry cheeks. "The shots fell silent, but I… I could still hear my mom's weeping and shaky breath." Fear slowly found its way into her voice as her eyes slowly opened. "Then I heard boots approaching, followed by a sudden shriek and a short scuffle from what I guessed was a surprised soldier. My daddy's voice confirmed my suspicion, but it terrified me just as much as our situation… I had… I had _never_ heard his tone sound the way it did before; there was… only hate and… murderous lust was left in his voice." Fear turned to terror in her expression as she repeated her father's words. "He just screamed at them, 'I'll kill you for hurting her, I'll give back every shot you put in her body!'"

Krystal fell silent, and after a moment Fox suddenly noticed her eyes growing vacant. She seemed to be mentally reliving the moment in her head to the point where she was falling out of reality; he feared she was about to go into shock. He finally fought past his fear and placed his hand on her shoulder, gave it a light squeeze, and spoke her name softly, "Krystal?" No response. He put his other hand on her knee and gave a second squeeze as well as a gentle shake, speaking her name a bit louder this time, "Krystal?!". This time she blinked, and Fox quickly removed his hands before she'd noticed. "Are you okay?" _Stupid question Fox! _"I mean, I know you're not-, what I mean is…"

Krystal answered him with a small nod. "I'm okay…"

"I don't have to know Krystal; you don't have to go on."

Krystal closed her eyes and shook her head. "No, I've kept this inside me for too long already, I need to vent to someone."

Fox's froze. _Am I the first you've ever told?_

She looked at him nervously. "Are you okay with me venting? I know I never really asked you if you wanted to…"

Fox looked at her comfortingly and offered a soft smile. "But _I_ asked _you_."

Krystal looked back down at her feet, an embarrassed smile creeping onto her face, but it faded as quick as it came as she recalled where she left off. "I grew tired of hiding. I got a firm hold of my staff and was ready to jump out, when my mom's stern voice filled my head, ordering me to stay.Just like that, I was glued where I stood. Her voice turned soothing as she told me to not be afraid; that they loved me, and would always be with me.'" Krystal clenched her fists, tears still rolling into her fur. "Rarely was I ever pissed at my mother, and I could never have seen that, of all times, I'd be pissed at her then."

Krystal took a slight pause, so Fox gently probed, "What'd she do?"

Krystal swallowed, clenching her fists even tighter. "My mother's gift… was telepathic persuasion. She'd used her ability on me maybe twice in my life, and I had cursed her for using it then as I was forced to listen to my father's assault get drown out by enemy fire that came from further behind him." She relaxed her fists as she fell back into immense weeping. "I couldn't even try to fight it. The pain was still there, but she had altered my mind to have no will to fight." She straightened back up as the anger returned. "I hate myself for it, but I just can't bring myself to appreciate what she did. I wanted to die fighting with them! I didn't want to leave my family behind, but she took my choice away! She even used her last breath to keep the soldiers from discovering me!

"I heard one of them speak up to search for me next. They all grew confused because they thought he meant my mother, whom they had already shot. As the first speaker tried to clarify that he meant me, his words caught in his throat, and within seconds he had completely forgotten that he was even going to say something. He scolded his troops for staring at him like fools and-" Krystal swallowed as her fists tightened again. "-to toss the bodies aside and continue loading the cargo." She fell silent and appeared to be calming herself, and Fox respected that by enquiring no further.

_I don't even know what to say at this point… what can you say to a tragedy like that?! _He thought, feeling helpless towards her.

After a moment, Krystal looked back out at the stars. Her tears had stopped, but now she seemed almost lifeless. "But, some weird part of me decided to respect my mother's wishes, cause I retreated as far back into the cargo hold as I could so that they wouldn't see me while loading. Once I felt safe, I fell apart." Krystal seemed ready to cry again, but nothing came; Fox wondered if she even had any tears left. "That was the final memory of my family that I have… As the vessel carried me away, I watched the planet I called home slowly fall apart. If any of my people weren't already dead, then they went with the planet…" Krystal drew her knees to her chest, pinning the staff in-between as she hugged her shins and rested her jaw on her knees. "I didn't think it was possible to feel so alone."

Fox couldn't help himself from asking, "What happened to it? Your planet?"

Krystal didn't seem to mind, she actually took on a factual air as she slowly lifted her head and appeared to put effort into accurately describing the event. "It was like… it erupted from the inside. Magma filled cracks crept over its surface, and then eerily peaceful; it just broke apart."

Fox nodded, then after a pause asked, "Is that when you saw the stars?"

Krystal smiled a real smile for the first time since she began the story, looking back out into space as she did so. "Yes. Well, after I had cried some more of course. I had curled into a ball and wept as quiet as I could, but eventually I noticed the occasional glow stretching through the window, and looked up to see what it was. I had looked at stars from Cerinia almost every night, but never had I been that close. Some nearly flew right by the porthole I was looking out of."

Fox chuckled, warmed by her excitement. "Stars fly huh?"

Krystal laughed and shook her shoulders again. "Yes." She answered, pleased with herself. "And moons are where they take turns resting, that's why moons glow at night."

Fox said nothing more, he just laughed with her; taking note of the sparkle that returned to her eyes. With that, Fox's mind returned to the present, finding himself back in his room, still on his bed. _She's so strong to have lost all that, and still live life as joyful as she can._ Fox had become addicted to the sight of her eye's sparkling, he saw it every time he got the opportunity to show her all the modern past-times when the Great Fox and the later Great Fox II was grounded on a planet for repairs and/or resupply. He brought her to theaters, shopping plazas, F-Zero races, a variety of food joints; _she developed a real taste for pasta, and how she adored anything creamy and sweet. _

She also enjoyed going to quirky locations with him. Fox himself enjoyed popping into kit's toy stores he'd pass by while grounded; reminiscing in the memories of different knickknacks and gadgets Slippy and he played with as younglings. Krystal marveled by his side over the creative little gizmos that others had come up with. _Her heart was so pure, unjudging, forgiving… I'd bump into her, and _she'd_ instantly apologize and check to make sure that _I_ was okay… _There were females with great hearts, females with great personalities, females as beautiful as the mind could imagine; but Fox had never met one with such a perfect combination of the three. _Yet you let her slip through your fingers, didn't you Fox?! _All the warm memories dissipated in a second.

He had wanted to tell her how he felt, but was always too timid to say anything. It was easy enough to fight alongside her during a mission or casually hang out with her, but as soon as the topic of the two of them being in a relationship came up, fear and humiliation would take over and he'd talk around his feelings every time.

Fox thought of when she and he had returned to Sauria to take out a group of Aparoids that had attacked the planet during the Aparoid invasion. Once the battle was over, he had run into his old friend Tricky, a young triceratops that lived on the planet. After some small talk and catching up, Tricky proceeded to tease Fox about how Krystal and he should return to Sauria for their honeymoon. Fox immediately turned red from embarrassment and proceeded to silence Tricky, telling him the conversation wasn't for children.

_Why?! _Fox scolded himself, smacking his forehead with both his hands and dragging them simultaneously down his face. _Why did you react like that?! Why can't you tell her three simple words?! You've selflessly put your life on the line countless times, yet you're too much of a coward to say THREE SIMPLE WORDS!" _

It wasn't only cowardice that made Fox curse himself. After a battle during the Aparoid Invasion where Krystal almost lost her life to an enemy, Fox made a decision that he would regret for the rest of his life. He kicked her off the team.

He had only meant to protect her; he didn't want to see her die from the dangers of their line of work. He recalled the night he removed her, and all the pain that came with it. They were all at a bar on planet Corneria, the center of culture and government of the Lylat system, having a few drinks and a relaxing evening. Out of all the challenges Fox had faced during his career as a pilot, asking Krystal to step outside so he could deliver the news to her was the hardest thing he had ever done. He blenched as he remembered her reaction; how she had fallen to the ground in tears. He saw the fear in her eyes, the fear of loss. Like Fox, the Star Fox team was all that she had, and he had taken it away from her. Then as he had turned to walk away, he heard her scream three words. Three words that he was too much of a coward to say himself, and three words that almost sent him to his knees. "I LOVE YOU!"

Fox had stopped dead in his tracks. His heart yearned to turn around and tell her how he loved her too, beg for her forgiveness and invite her to stay forever; but the thought of seeing the day that she got struck down by one of their enemies was too much for him to bare. He couldn't let her stay, he wouldn't. He would rather have her out of harm's way than by fighting his side. However, during the Angler Blitz, he learned that his attempt to keep her safe had all been for nothing. A few days after she had been left behind on Corneria, another group of pilots made her an offer to join their team, Star Wolf.

Star Wolf was a dangerous group of mercenaries that were willing to take on any job, legitimate or criminal, as long as the pay was worth it. Their group originated under Andross' command during the Lylat Wars, built to be a force that could outmatch and destroy Star Fox. The first team was made up of four pilots: Wolf O'Donnell: a large, gray wolf with a fur pattern similar to Fox, Leon Powalski: a green chameleon, Pigma Dengar: A pink, hefty pig, and Andrew Oikonny: A tall, thin snow monkey.

Wolf was the leader of the team and mingled as Fox's main adversary; proceeding Andross. Leon was Wolf's wing man and just about as talented as Falco. Pigma had been a lethal member of the original Star Fox team led by Fox's father, until Andross offered Pigma a large sum of money to betray Star Fox; a sum the fat hog couldn't resist. Last was Andrew, Andross' nephew. Andrew was by far the least talented of the group, put on the team by Andross to free himself from the nephew's annoying presence.

Twice Star Wolf fought for the murderous ape, and twice they fell at the hands of the team they were created to defeat. The second destruction of Andross had marked the end of the Lylat Wars, and the Star Wolf team disappeared. Nine years later, they reemerged during the Aparoid Invasion; acting on their own for whatever job they saw fit and worth their time. Upon their reappearance, Star Fox learned that Star Wolf had disbanded Pigma, for boasting and untrustworthy conduct, and Andrew, for whining and pathetic piloting; recruiting a new member, Panther Caroso. The panther had dark purple fur with a set of piercing yellow eyes. Underneath the panther's right eye was a thin, grey scar that ran from his cheekbone to his snout.

Abandoned and alone by the one who had saved her life, Krystal accepted their offer and became a member of Star Wolf. Not long after, Panther had developed feelings for Krystal just as fast as Fox had; only he showed no fear in admitting them to her. As a result, Krystal and Panther had developed a relationship that brought Fox down as if a poison were flowing through his veins. Blood burning and heart throbbing, the urge to fall to his knees and release a loud cry of regret would nearly overtake him every time he thought of the newly formed bond. _If only you had kept her with you, if only YOU had told her the truth! _In the end, all Fox had was his team, his regret, and his ever burning fear of time.

A knock on the door woke Fox from his thoughts. "Come in." Fox answered without moving more than his mouth.

In stepped Lucy Hare, Peppy Hare's daughter who took his place on the Star Fox team after he had been offered the position as General of Cornerian army by the retiring General Pepper. Lucy was a slender rabbit with pink fur and eyes, along with a tall set of ears and a bright white set of buck teeth. "We've received a transmission from my father, he needs to speak with you."

_Been awhile since we've heard from you Peppy, _Fox thought to himself. "I'll be right up." He replied, still motionless.

"Please hurry, he sounded urgent." She paused for a moment. "Fox?"

Fox forced himself to look over his shoulder at her.

"Please don't let what Falco said stand for the rest of us. We care about you; we just don't want to see you lose yourself to the past."

Fox remained silent. He couldn't bring himself to believe her. With all he had put them through, they had every right to want to leave him. He went back to staring at the wall his bed sided with. "I'll be right up, alright?" He waited for her to leave, but seconds later was surprised with feeling her lips press against his cheek as she gave him a quick kiss. He shrunk inside himself and grew hot with embarrassment.

Lucy spoke in a soft, soothing voice. "We're never going to abandon you, I promise." With that, she turned and left the room. Fox lay still for a moment longer. _How can they be so forgiving? How can they just work past all the time and energy I made them spend on false alarms?_ He had asked himself this many times, and each inquest provided no further answer than the rest. _Well… better not keep Peppy waiting. _Fox got to his feet and picked up his jacket and headset, putting them both back on as he walked. He stepped out into the hallway and made his way towards the stairs leading to the bridge of the Great Fox II.

The Great Fox II wasn't as nice as the first Great Fox, a battleship that was the team's original vessel lost during the Aparoid invasion, nor as roomy due to three quarters of the hull composing of two large hangers that had plenty of room for storing their aircraft and other cargo, but didn't work very well for living space. Fox had Slippy and R.O.B. turn a row of six extra cargo compartments in the back of the ship into bedrooms. Small and dim as they were, they were at least a suitable place to sleep.

Fox reached the top of the stairs and looked around the bridge. Control panels were lined up along the bottom of a large, three panel wide window that looked out over the exterior deck of the ship and into the vastness of space. A cylindrical holographic table sat in the center of the room. Gathered around the table was Falco, Slippy, R.O.B., Lucy, and Amanda Toad.

Amanda joined the Star Fox team around the same time Lucy Hare had joined up, and had recently married Slippy Toad. Slippy had met her before the Angler Blitz, and she joined the team to stay right by his side. She was a pink frog that had the same figure as Lucy. Her eyes were royal blue and she wore a bright yellow ribbon on the top of her head.

On the table was a hologram of Peppy Hare, now known as General Hare, with a look of distress and annoyance on his face. "There you are Fox! You'd better watch yourself boy, soon enough you'll be moving slower than me!" Peppy said playfully, trying to cover his irritation.

Fox smiled; something about seeing Peppy again helped alleviate his stress. "Been awhile old man, life as a general still treating you fair?"

"No time for chit-chat Fox, I have a matter that demands attention and could really use your help!"

"Well, here at Star Fox we certainly love it when matters demand _our_ attention." Fox replied with an amused smile. "What's the situation?"

"The Cornerian forces sent out their usual weekly convoy to go circle around planet Venom and ensure no suspicious activity was taking place. Things had been quiet ever since we wiped its surface clean of all life forms, but today the planet, once again, had a surprise in store for us. Five minutes ago, the convoy was attacked as it came around to the far side of the planet from its sun, Solar. The attack force was large and quickly overwhelmed them. We've dispatched reinforcements but I'm afraid that they won't make it in time. The convoy needs back up now!"

Falco interrupted, "Let me guess, your scanners show that we're close by and you want us to assist until further reinforcements show up?"

"Precisely!" Peppy Exclaimed. "You're less than five minutes from the planet, our forces won't arrive for another ten to fifteen. I've already sent you the convoy's exact location. Please Fox, their lives are in jeopardy!"

"Already on our way general." Fox switched his attention to his team. "R.O.B., get this ship headed towards the convoy's coordinates and prepare its defenses and firepower. Slippy, get down to the hangers and start getting all our fighters warmed up and combat ready. Everyone else, prepare yourselves for battle."

"I knew I could count on you Fox!"

"What are we going up against general?"

"That's the other strange part, the attack force was composed Anglers and Aparoids."

_Anglers and Aparoids?! _Fox took a step back. "That's impossible. We wiped out the Aparoids during the Aparoid invasion, when we destroyed the Aparoid queen and blew up their home world eight years ago; and if there were any Anglers left on planet Venom, they would've been wiped out when the Cornerian army wiped Venom lifeless."

"I completely agree with you Fox, but we thought the same after you destroyed Andross for the _second_ time. Look how he came back on planet Sauria. After that, I'd say nothing is beyond impossible."

_Blast you Peppy, I hate it when you're right. _Fox stood in thought for a moment. Excluding the Aparoid Invasion, every conflict that Lylat had been through had Andross at its heart, and behind Andross was Venom.

Andross was a large gorilla who originally took up a career as a scientist on Corneria. His intentions started out pure until his discoveries led him to experiment to far. Eventually his motives became destructive as his research into bio-technology increased, destroying a large portion of the Cornerian city in the process; thousands of lives were lost. As a result, General Pepper, the previous general of the Cornerian army, exiled Andross to planet Venom, where he was expected to die due to the planet's inability to sustain life; they were wrong.

Venom didn't kill Andross, it changed him. Something about that planet had poisoned his mind; increasing his hunger for knowledge, revenge, and dominance. His intentions became twisted beyond what he started out after, and he turned into a monster that had nearly taken over the galaxy time and time again. He had transformed from an experimental scientist, to a blood thirsty dictator.

Venom's possession of Andross truly came to light when the ape reincarnated after his defeat at Fox's hand; twice. Andross was flesh and blood on Corneria, but he became a god on Venom. There was something more to the planet than met the eye, and it worried Fox every time they went up against it, or anything that was associated with it; leading him to ask again, _is this it? How far off are we? How long…?_

"Fox!" Peppy's voice brought Fox back to reality. "We lost you for a moment there, are you alright?"

"Yeah, fine." Fox replied. He looked up at his team. "You guys ready for this?"

"This bird has been ready to get back in the air and into some _real_ action for a long time." Said Falco, giving Fox a noticeable glare and twirling his laser pistol on his feathered finger as he headed toward the stairs. Amanda and Lucy followed suit.

Peppy called out to Lucy before she left. "Do be careful my dear, it scares me enough watching you fly out into the danger zone. I couldn't stand losing you to it..."

Lucy turned and acknowledged her father. "Don't worry papa, this rabbit's got speed. They won't even see her coming!" She said with an adventurous smile. She then turned and followed the rest of the team down the stairs.

"I'll watch over her too old man." Fox said comfortingly. "Anything else before I head to my Arwing?"

"There is one more little detail..."

Fox didn't like the hesitance in his voice. "And that would be?"

"I called in Star Wolf to help as well."


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Fox's entire body tensed. "Say again?"

Peppy's suspicion that this wouldn't be good news to Fox was confirmed by the look of horror on his face. "I said that I called in the in the Star Wolf team to assist you."

Fox put both his hands on his forehead and slowly dragged them down to the end of his snout. "Peppy, _please_ tell me this is a joke."

"I'm afraid not Fox… However, I have picked up few good ones that are real knockout! I could tell you those if you'd like?

Fox placed his hands on the holographic table a bit harder than he intended; his shock quickly transforming into anger. "Peppy, _what _in _Lylat _were you thinking?!"

"Look Fox there really is no time to argue, that convoy..."

"That convoy is going to end up in even more danger! Have you forgotten that Star Fox and Star Wolf are not on the best of terms?! For Lylat's sake Peppy, Krystal's on that team!"

"Watch yourself boy. I know you and Krystal have a history together, and yes maybe this wasn't my best decision, but as General of the Cornerian army I needed to make a call; we need as many talented assets as we can get!"

Fox gritted his teeth, stepped back, and breathed a heavy sigh. Peppy had always been good to him and had guided him through some of his most difficult struggles. _Show him some respect, he's only trying to help…_ Fox recomposed himself and began again through closed teeth, trying to cover the irritation that still burned inside him. "How did you even get them to agree to this?"

"One of the most powerful things in the universe."

_Money. _Fox thought, feeling stupid for asking that question.

"As for why I called them in, I will reiterate how great a number of fighters attacked our convey! I was afraid they would be too great for even you to handle, and I didn't want to put you or your team in any more danger than I had too. When I saw that Star Wolf was also in the area, I contacted them and paid a painfully large sum for Wolf and his team to help out. I informed them that you would be there as well, and that they were not to open fire on you. If they do, I will send the Cornerian reinforcements that's on its way after them as soon as this is all over."

Fox approached the table and slammed his hands down upon it again, losing all emotional control once more. "_Krystal_, is on, that _team_!"

Peppy stood his ground; remaining completely calm and trying to sound understanding. "And we can hope that she'll influence Star Wolf against any impulsive actions, but you know better than I do that joining them was her choice. If she takes part in an assault against you or us, she will be dealt with no different than them."

Fox stepped back from the table and turned away from the general; becoming completely still. Inside his head, no stillness existed; his thoughts were in sheer panic. _How could you do this Peppy?! I could end up having to fight her! I can't do that; you should know I can't! I couldn't even stand by and watch someone else take her down! Why, Peppy?! What in the _fuck_ were you thinking?!_

"Fox?" Peppy patiently called.

Fox gave no reply. He remained motionless; staring ferociously at the wall ahead of him.

"Fox, soldiers are dying. I need Star Fox out there; I fear it may already be too late..."

Fox closed his eyes and bowed his head.

The intercom came on, Fox recognized Slippy's voice. "Fox! I've got the Arwings up and ready to go; you coming or what?!" Slippy sounded anxious and high pitched as usual.

A couple seconds passed before Fox breathed a defeated sigh through his snout and looked over at R.O.B. "How close are we?"

"WE ARE CLOSING IN ON THE LOCATION. ETA TWO MINUTES." R.O.B. answered.

"Let Slippy know I'm on my way." Without giving a single glance towards General Hare, Fox turned and began heading toward the stairs.

Peppy spoke up after him. "Thank you Fox, and good luck to you and your team. Regardless of how you feel right now, you know I'm always proud of the great leader you are. Your father would feel the same."

Fox hadn't stopped walking until that final statement. Silence hung in the room, awaiting Fox's response. Without moving an inch further, he sternly announced, "Terminate transmission." Fox listened to the sound of Peppy's holographic figure dissipating from the table before stepping off. He paused at the top of the stairs and looked back at R.O.B. "R.O.B, did you and Slippy ever finish the laser cannon I asked for?"

"MY READOUT SHOWS THE MULTI-SHOT LASER CANNON LOCATED ON THE BOTTOM OF THE FRONT END OF THE GREAT FOX II IS AT ONE-HUNDERED PERCENT OPERATIONAL CAPACITY."

"And the ships missiles are locked and loaded?"

"ALL SIX ARE ON STANDBYE."

Fox had forgotten that he also had Slippy and R.O.B. install three extra missile ports on the vessel. "Good. Once we're out and on our way to the location, get within firing distance of the battlefield. If this gets messy, we'll need you as back up." With that he turned back around and made his way down the stairs.

It took him less than thirty seconds to reach the hanger, yet every second was haunted by the thought of the situation he may face with the blue vixen. _The cruel truth is, it's still your fault. _Fox thought, referring to himself. _You kicked her off the team, you left her alone, and now you are going to have to face her in a way that you completely deserve. _Upon arrival to the hanger, Fox found his whole team ready and waiting. Falco was the first to make a comment. "What took ya so long? You and Peppy havin' a little love chat up there? We was about to leave without ya."

Fox smiled at the criticism as he climbed up into his Arwing. _Far from a love chat. At least you're letting go of what happened earlier._ "Aw, you'd miss me too much. Besides, who's gonna cover your feathered tail if you leave me behind?" He playfully jabbed back. Fox could tell he hit home by Falco's reaction.

"Excuse me? I've saved your furry pelt twice as much! Mr. insecure!"

_Maybe not._

Amanda's voice came over all the team's headsets. "Boys, you're both pretty. Let's not forget we still need to work _together_?"

Slippy was the next to speak. "You tell em, my beautiful water lily!"

"You always knew how to back me up honey." Amanda responded in her beautiful southern accent. Slippy preached endlessly about it being the reason he had first fallen in love with her.

"Every time I hear her speak my knees wobble and I just feel like flopping on the ground!" He would always say with a dreamy smile on his face. Their relationship had been amusing to Fox at first, but it wasn't long until he had to start ordering them to take their _lovey dovey _comments for each other to their room; due to the fact that he couldn't stand it anymore. He knew that they were in that 'newly wed' stage and were only enjoying each other's company and affections, but it was giving him a headache. Falco had lost tolerance for it long before Fox had.

"Shoot me if I _ever_ become _that_ infatuated with a female." Falco always said.

_ You and me both_, Fox always thought in return. Yet he knew that even though Slippy and Amanda's love for each other was a bit over-displayed, it was strong and true; Fox envied that. It always led him to think about Krystal. _Why couldn't I have had that same dedication? Why did I have to let fear ruin my chances of a relationship with her? Slippy's the kind of guy who would jump at his own shadow, yet he got over the fear of his love, let alone his WIFE, fighting by his side. Why couldn't I?!_

"Just spare us the _pleasantry_ of you two's love fest and let's get this show on the road." Falco said as he conducted his final checks from his cockpit and started his fighter. He then lifted his aircraft off the floor, rotated towards the large opening in the hanger and flew through the blue force field that separated the oxygen inside the Great Fox II from the atmosphere of space. Fox sealed his cockpit window and waited for the rest to fly off before following suit. He watched as Lucy lifted off the ground in her fighter and set off to join Falco out in the stars, her face radiating with excitement. Fox recalled his promise to Peppy to keep her safe, and Peppy's expressing his pride in Fox. He believed Peppy had complete confidence in his abilities, yet inside: no such confidence existed. Fox knew he would give it his all to make sure that his whole team made it back in one piece, but he dreaded the day that wouldn't be enough.

He envisioned three enemy fighters in pursuit of Lucy. Fox pushed his fighter to its limits trying to get to her but didn't make it in time. She was shot down and her aircraft obliterated.

Fox cringed himself out of the hallucination. Out of all his teammates, Fox felt most responsible for Lucy. Peppy trusted his daughter's judgment to serve on the Star Fox team, as well as Fox to safeguard and watch over her. If she perished under Fox's command, her blood would be on his hands. He would never be able to face her father again, let alone his own team. _If __they__ even survive…_

_ "_Coming Fox?" Fox was once again woken from his thoughts by Slippy's Voice. He looked up to see that everyone else had flown out of the hanger. He quickly grabbed the controls of his Arwing and flew out to join them. He exited the Great Fox II and was surrounded by stars that lit up the dark vastness of space. There was a time when they were beautiful, a view he would never tire of. _They're also the _only_ thing you left Krystal with… _He used to admire them on every flight, now he could always feel them watching him; condemning him. _No time… _Fox thought as he scanned the area for his crew.

His headset HUD located them a few kilometers up ahead; and the combat a few thousand kilometers ahead of them. Peppy was right: the attack force was not a small group of renegades on a suicide mission to kill a few Cornerians in revenge for what had been done to their planet, this was meant to overwhelm and exterminate the convoy. The whole scene looked far worse than an explosive light show that many planets put on for mere entertainment. Lasers flew in every direction, ships blew up left and right, and pieces of what had originally been some sort of spacecraft floated all over the battlefield. "No wonder Peppy had been so urgent." Fox muttered to himself, feeling guilty for being so argumentative with him back on the bridge.

He recognized Falco's voice coming through the headset. "You gonna join us up here cap?"

Fox realized he was still a good distance behind his team, and quickly put his thrusters to full capacity to catch up. _Wake up Fox!_ He thought sternly. _If you keep zoning out like this, you _are _going to wind up getting yourself and your team killed!_ He pushed all his worries out of his mind. He still looked upon the future with angst, but his team needed him. He would be sure to put everything he had into staying focused and completing the mission. _For Lylat, for its citizens, for my family_.

Fox finally caught up with his team and took the lead. By now his HUD showed they had about twenty seconds until they would enter the chaos.

"What's the plan Fox?" Lucy asked, her voice matched her facial expression that Fox had observed back in the hanger.

"We need to fight our way to the convoy's main battle cruiser, form a perimeter, and push outwards. That will give us some space to rally what's left of the Cornerian fighters, as well as the Star Wolf team." _If they'd be willing to cooperate. _Fox added to himself, still petrified of encountering the love of his life. When he heard his whole team simultaneously express their astonishment towards his mentioning of Star Wolf, he remembered that they weren't on the bridge when Peppy had passed that on.

"When were you planning to inform us of this little piece of information?!" Falco said, his voice portrayed a mix of shock and anger.

"No time, the battle's upon us!"

The whole team immediately fell silent and switched their focus to being combat ready as they sped right into the carnage. It was like stepping out of a dark room and straight into one bursting with light and chaos! The whole scene blinded them for a moment. Things seemed bad enough from a distance, now they just stepped in the doorway.

"Take evasive action!" Fox yelled into his headset as the whole team began dodging obstacles and firing at enemy fighters. Fox's HUD lit up with information. Peppy's Intel was correct: the attack consisted of both Aparoids and Anglers. The Aparoids were large, intelligent, organic mechanical beings that were designed after insects. The ones Fox mainly observed here were in the form of a moth, equipped with dual laser beams and missiles with lock on capabilities. The Anglers were fishes similar to the Angler fish species. They flew around in crayfish-shaped fighters that had varying capabilities, but mainly consisted of some sort of laser beam and missiles. _Cliché'_, Fox thought.

His own fighter was the Arwing II. It looked like an average star fighter with its sleek triangular design, dual vertical stabilizers, and white and blue paint job. The Arwing II was equipped with a single laser beam that had single lock capabilities. The fighter also carried two smart bombs with lock on capabilities. Fox considered smart bombs to be Slippy's greatest creation. They had a blast radius large enough to take out an entire squadron of star fighters or make a good size hole in an asteroid belt. They could also detonate on impact or be set to a time frame.

Falco zoomed overhead, chasing down a couple of Aparoids. He flew the Sky Claw. Its design was very similar to the Arwing II, minus that the wings were crafted to look like those of a large bird. The Sky Claw was equipped with a single laser beam that had multi-lock capabilities, making it easier for him to take down a group of fighters. His Arwing was also the fastest of the whole team's. Falco often bragged about the upgrades he had added to his ship by hole-in-the-wall mechanics he came across on different planets; all of them friends from his past life that owed him favors for dirty work he had done for them during his days as leader of his own gang. Slippy always fumed at why Falco had never just let him do the upgrades, being that he was fully capable. Falco always brushed him off with, "I've got my reasons, you've got bigger fish to fry anyway Slip'."

"Like what?!" Slippy asked.

"Like keepin the rest of the team up and runnin. You also gotta make sure this bucket of bolts stays in the air and doesn't fail us."

"Her name is the Great Fox II, and she's not a bucket of bolts! I got her at a good price, and with a little fixing up, she'll be just as good as the first Great Fox!"

"Alright, alright. Sheesh, calm down; didn't mean to rile you up. Why do you care so much about upgrading my ship anyway?"

This always silenced Slippy. He never liked to admit it, but he hated the thought of other people out there that could do just as good, if not better at mechanics than he could. It always brought out a competitive side of him.

Naturally Slippy upgraded his own fighter, the Bullfrog. The body of his Arwing was much wider than the others, and it was equipped with a plasma cannon instead of a laser. The Bullfrog had no lock on capabilities, but it had the strongest shields and carried three smart bombs. Slippy would always get back at Falco with the fact that the Sky Claw had weaker shields and only one smart bomb.

"Shields are only to protect those who get shot, which this bird never does." Falco would boast with a haughty look on his face.

Fox chuckled every time. "Oh ya? Like the time I shot you down myself when you decided to go AWOL on the Star Fox team?"

Falco kept his cool. "I let you win that. I didn't want to hurt ya."

"Uh huh." Fox would always reply with a smirk.

Fox swiftly rolled his fighter out of the way as an oncoming Angler fired its lasers at him.

"Nice barrel role Fox!" He heard Lucy say over the comm link.

"Peppy would be proud_._"Fox murmured with a shudder. Lucy was on his left, looking to head off the remaining Aparoid Falco was chasing; he had already taken down the other.

Lucy's Sky Bunny looked nothing like an Arwing. She had picked it up herself when she first started flying. It had a circular body with fair sized wings and two vertical stabilizers. It was originally built as a civilian cruiser, but Slippy gave it an armor and life support upgrade, as well as added a plasma cannon and a smart bomb that would at least get her by in basic combat, with plans to upgrade it further in the future. He had even given it a pink and white paint job at her request.

Lucy's Tadpole had been the same way. The name also fit the fighter, being that its body was shaped and painted like a green Tadpole. The special thing about hers was due to its design, it was able to operate under water; something Fox knew would be very useful in their future. They had already taken advantage of the ability during side jobs in order to keep a sustainable income to cover food, fuel, repairs, and living expenses if they ever took up temporary refuge on a planet.

Fox slowed his Arwing's speed to help a Cornerian fighter that was being chased down by an Aparoid and-, _is that a Venomian fighter?! _Fox directed his HUD to scan the craft. It confirmed the historic build, as well as identified the pilot as the same species of lizard that worked under Andross during the Lylat wars. He hadn't seen any Venomians since the beginning of the Aparoid invasion, and even then he thought the last of them had been destroyed in a rebellion led by Andrew Oikonny, a nephew of Andross.

_What in the universe would bring three completely separate armies of selfish motive to work together like this? Is this really just to get back at the Cornerians by taking down one simple convoy? Why would they rally on Venom? Once the Cornerian cavalry gets here, their entire group will be wiped out! Their intentions couldn't be more than destroying this small Cornerian force. Unless... is there more? Is there a large unknown army about to come out of the blanket of fog that now enwraps Venom? If so, who's leading them? Andross and Oikonny are dead, and Dash..._

Anger and pain flooded Fox's heart. Dash Bowman had been a young pilot in the Cornerian army and Andross' grandson, though he never took after his grandfather's actions. He was a humanoid monkey of short height, brown fur, and a white head of hair. He got teased for being 'the cutest thing' by all the other pilots. Fox couldn't even help snickering at the comments. Dash was quite the adorable little ape, but few could match his piloting skills. He had assisted the Star Fox team during the Angler Blitz, but met his end two years ago with the annihilation of all life on Venom.

After the Angler Blitz, Venom had already been cleansed of most of its dangers, such as the Anglers and the Venomians. Dash was convinced that if he could create a device that would cleanse Venom of its toxic atmosphere and waters, he could turn the residence of his grandfather that had caused torment and death in Lylat for years into a peaceful home for Lylat's citizens. Fox was strongly against the idea, along with his team and several others; including ones that had diplomatic power in the system. Fox tried to convince Dash that no good was ever to come of Venom and it was a planet that was best left alone. Fox told him of his belief: the planet had played a part in the corruption Dash's Grandfather, and turned him into the monster that caused Lylat so much pain.

Dash wouldn't hear of it; he didn't believe that a _planet_ could affect someone's mind. He blamed Andross' actions completely on Andross himself. His grandfather simply had an evil heart, and lived to cause chaos in the galaxy. Fox didn't hate Dash for his decision, but he warned him that he would have no part in it, and he was confident that his team wouldn't either. Dash respected their decision, and set out to rally his own support for his campaign to turn Venom into a hospitable planet.

Within a few months, he had gained all the support and funds he needed to begin his restoration project. Fox was speechless from the amount of people who went along with this idea. _It's that easy to forget all the pain that's come from that planet?_ He felt it was a slap in the face to him, his team, and his parents. A tear ran down the side of his cheek, his father had died on Venom; at the hands of the very monster it created. The monster had also taken the life of his mother, as well as millions of other lives in the galaxy. Now, millions more were in agreement that Venom should become a place of happiness and harmony. Fox felt crushed, and even more so, angry. _After all I've done for this galaxy, for each and every one of them! The sacrifices I've made... sacrifices my team made. How dare they find joy in the very thing I've hated my entire life! _Eventually, he even developed a hatred for Dash.

It was on an evening when he was sitting alone on the bridge of the Great Fox II, watching a news feed on the holographic table; he had picked up the feed from a nearby satellite. It showed enormous crowds of people in support of Venom's cleansing, and Dash stood at the head of them all. The very sight of him ignited an anger inside Fox that he hadn't felt for a long time. He had stood up and slammed his fists into the table so hard it damaged it; terminating the feed. _You're the cause of this! _He internally exclaimed. _How could you find such happiness in what only brings me pain?! _Fox began to whisper his thoughts. "You know what that place means to me…" Fury instantly erupted inside of him, leading him to slam his fists on the table again and shout, "YOU KNOW THE SUFFERING IT'S CAUSED ME!" He stood in silence, furiously breathing; fighting the liquid building in his eyes.

Then came the day that Dash had finally done it. Through large engineering and construction teams, he had built large filters all over Venom and cleansed its atmosphere and waters. He even industrialized large portions of the planet's surface so that people could start moving in immediately. The entire process had taken two years, but his dream had finally come true. Fox once again had stood by the holographic table watching the news feed, only this time the whole team was with him.

"Well, that's that." Falco had said as he shut off the feed. Fox just stood there in silence, his face showed sign of defeat. There was a time where he had spoken out against Dash, but he never gained enough support to stop the process. General Hare had even joined Fox in his efforts, taking the matter to his superiors inside the Cornerian government and trying to show military support in putting a halt to Dash's plans, but they wouldn't listen. They felt that Venom's restoration could be a benefit to the Cornerian army and would allow them to expand, recruit more soldiers and pilots, and increase their strength. Everyone believed that Venom wasn't the threat, it was the people who originally inhabited it; Venom wouldn't remain a symbol of pain, but of rebirth.

Lucy walked over to Fox and gently placed her hand on his shoulder, "Fox, are you going to be okay?" Her delicate and nurturing voice contained concern.

Fox didn't respond. He simply turned and walked away, retreating to his room. He knew the planet was supernatural, and if he had his will, he would have it destroyed. Weeks later, an evening came where he intended to do so.

Fox had gotten low enough one night that he flew out in his Arwing, unbeknownst to the team, and went to a nearby planet to try drinking his pain away; though with every shot he consumed, the pain and anger just increased. He finally decided that if nobody was going to see the light and stop this madness, he would do it himself. He got up, left the bar, and flew back to the Great Fox II. By then everyone on the ship was asleep; even R.O.B. had gone into his sleep mode. Fox had nothing stopping him from programing the vessel to head towards Venom. It was a two-hour trip, and he sat in the bridge ready and waiting the entire time. Finally, the Great Fox II arrived at its destination. Fox got up and headed straight for his fighter, only to find Falco waiting for him.

"Care to tell me why we're taking a mysterious trip to Venom at two forty-three in the morning?" Falco said as he leaned against the arwing's ladder, his wings crossed over his chest.

Fox was angry, drunk, and determined. He had no tolerance for Falco that night. "I'm not explaining myself to you Falco, step away from my arwing and this won't have to get ugly."

Falco raised his feathered eyebrows in aggressive amusement. "You should know by now that I have no problem with that." He said as he took his weight off the ladder. "But... I'm not going to stop you." Falco stepped away from the Arwing. "Go ahead. Fly off to Venom and do what you need to do. Just realize when you sober up, you're going to see how big of a mistake you've made tonight, and you're gonna wish I had stopped you."

Even through all his anger, Fox felt a little taken back. He had expected a brawl, for the whole team to come running out and find the two of them beating each other beyond recognition. He slowly walked by Falco and climbed up into his fighter.

"I know how it feels Fox." Falco shouted after him as he turned on his Arwing. "To have everyone turn against you and make you feel like the lowest thing in the universe. But I'm telling you, this isn't the solution." With that he turned and walked back towards his room. Fox sat in the cockpit for a moment before taking off. He felt his anger rising inside of him again, only this time he was angry at himself. In his hatred he had become the very monster he had wanted dead his whole life, and even intended to cause the same destruction as the monster had. _What would my parents think? My father... _He looked down at his fighter's ignition and moments later, turned it off. Slowly slumping down into his cockpit seat, Fox allowed his tears to roll from his eyes into his fur as he silently cried himself to sleep.

Venom continued to flourish for the next year, before disorder slowly began to arise. Crime started going up, murders became more frequent, eventually reaching spontaneous shootouts that would happen in the middle of any street, anytime, anywhere. When police stopped responding to the attacks, and no military force had stepped up to control the chaos, the Cornerian government looked into the matter. It wasn't hard to get in contact with Dash, and they weren't met with pleasing news. Dash had informed them that Venom had become the leading power in the galaxy; its population second to only Corneria itself, and its military was even greater than Corneria's. He thanked the Cornerian army for supplying most of Venom's strength and firepower, and threatened that unless demands were met to further increase the planet's economic and military resources, and turn over all political authority to Dash himself, he would unleash all hell on Lylat unlike anything ever seen before.

The leaders representing Corneria's government laughed his threat off. They informed him all they had to do was tell his forces to cease following his orders, and his so called 'place in power' would completely diminish. Dash responded with a smile that chilled his audience to the bone. This ape was no longer cute, he had become the very symbol of evil that Andross had been all those years ago.

"Go ahead." Dash said, with a shocking calmness and confidence in his voice. "Give 'your' men the order. Tell them to stop following any and all commands I've given. I won't stop you."

The government leaders immediately contacted the Cornerian forces on planet Venom and told them to halt their support of Dash; they were met with a terrifying response. Venom's army was now loyal to only Dash Bowman, and it was the Cornerian government that they would cease taking orders from. The soldier they spoke to had the same look in his eye that Dash had when they spoke to him. It was then that they realized the gravity of their situation; Venom's Cornerian military force was corrupt. All these years they had allowed a horror story to brew under their very noses, and now the entire universe was about to pay for it. The Cornerian government leaders proceeded to inform Dash of their response if he was to actually make good on his threat.

Back when the restoration of Venom had first begun, they hadn't allowed the warnings given by their highly trusted Star Fox team to stop the process all together, but they had taken it into consideration; not under the belief that Venom had supernatural spirits roaming its grounds, but that Dash was a descendant of Andross and considered a universal security risk. Immediately after the protests given by Fox McCloud, they began creating a confidential threat response in case the absolute worst was ever to go down on planet Venom. The response was made up of a nuclear arsenal placed on a brigade of omnipresent battleships manufactured solely to be within firing range of the planet within a single minute. The response was powerful enough to wipe everything clean off Venom's surface. If Dash didn't step down immediately, they would unleash the missiles on the planet, putting a complete stop to the threat instantaneously.

Many were against such action and tried to find other solutions, but none would suffice. Venom's new army was larger than any other in Lylat's history. Dash had been running underground training sessions completely unnoticed by the Cornerian government. He had quickly built an unstoppable force that even the Star Fox team saw no way of handling, and each and every member in Venom's military showed complete loyalty to Dash.

Fox thought it was finally over. Venom had risen high enough to finally take over Lylat, and there was nothing he could do about it. He just sat in the ship's bridge with the rest of his team, watching the news feeds and waiting for the end.

The threat didn't even seem to faze Bowman. In consequence for Corneria's refusal to surrender, he launched his army. The Cornerian government knew then that they had no choice. All of Venom had gone insane; no one on the planet would stand against Dash's actions. Venom's army was deployed to destroy anything that stood in their way, and all the civilians on the planet had taken to crime, murder, and war amongst themselves. To save the galaxy, the billions of lives on Venom would have to be obliterated. The nuclear brigade had already been enroute to the planet as soon as Dash had aroused unease. Seconds after Dash's move, the Cornerian response force circled the planet and fired its arsenal. The Star Fox team watched in silence as one by one the missiles hit the planet from all directions and fire engulfed its surface. Only a few platoon's worth of fighters had made it off the planet, which were picked off by the very force that annihilated Venom. The planet burned for a month before it released a mysterious mist that put out the fires and covered its surface, then all was quite.

"Well... that's that." Falco stated as he walked away from the final news report that would be given on Venom's state.

Fox remained standing by the holographic table for a few seconds longer. "Yeah," he whispered, feeling satisfaction knowing that Venom was finally finished, and a sadness knowing that billions of people had died in the process: one of them being an adorable little monkey that had once helped them save the galaxy, but transformed into a monster that almost destroyed it. "That's that…"

"Fox!" Falco's voice brought Fox back to reality. "Watch your tail, you've got three Anglers behind you and they've got a lock!"

Fox reacted on instinct and pushed down on his controls, ducking just in time to avoid a group of plasma blasts that whizzed overhead. He then began to survey his surroundings through his HUD and get a grip on what was happening. _Damn it Fox! _He scolded himself, _stop letting yourself get distracted. You're already failing your team!_

Slippy's voice came over Fox's headset. "I can see the Cornerian battle cruiser, we made it!"

Fox quickly took command, forgetting all about the Venomian fighter that had sent him diving into his thoughts. "Alright guys, start forming that perimeter and getting us some leg room! R.O.B., you read me?"

"YOUR VOICE IS COMING IN CLEAR. HOW MAY I BE OF ASSISTANCE?"

"I need you to use the Great Fox II's firepower to keep an escape route open, in case we need it. Slippy, Lucy, help R.O.B. out by doing the same thing with your own fighters. Amanda, Falco, and I will clear that perimeter."

Right after he finished giving his order, a new voice came over the comm link. "Quite the commander there, aren't you Fox? Gotta say I'm impressed; you really know how to take control of a situation after nearly being blown up." Fox recognized it instantly. He knew that menacing growl anywhere.

"Wolf."


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"It's been quite a while Fox. Five years wasn't it? Seems like a lot has happened since, with the restoration of Venom and all. Those were quite the protests against your little friend's schemes." Wolf said with a taunting chuckle.

"Couldn't just stand by and wait for fate to pick the victor." Fox replied as he frantically tried to spot Wolf and his team.

"Never play against fate Fox. I'm sure it wasn't your wish for both of us to end up on the same battlefield working together, over the very planet that's haunted you your whole life. Hell, it sure wasn't my decision either. Yet here we are."

Fox finally spotted Wolf and one of his crew, Leon, rounding up a group of Aparoids and Anglers, as well as a couple Venomian fighters no different than the one Fox had spotted earlier. _The Cornerian!_

He remembered about the Cornerian pilot that was being chased by a Venomian. Fox's eyes scanned the area around his Arwing and located the Cornerian just up ahead and to the left. The pilot had lost the Aparoid, but was still running from the Venomian. Fox sped up and fired multiple laser blasts right through the center of the hostile fighter then zoomed overhead the leftover scrap. He turned his arwing around and made eye contact with the Cornerian pilot, who gave Fox a thumbs up from his cockpit. Fox then tried to relocate Wolf and Leon's fighters.

Wolf flew a 'v' shaped fighter called the Wolfen. It had thin, pointed, tapered-straight wings located towards the rear half of the aircraft. The Wolfen was equipped with a twin laser with multi-lock capabilities and one smart bomb. Leon flew the Rainbow Delta; a variation of the Wolfen. The fighter had swept-back wings and two horizontal stabilizers. It was equipped with a laser cannon that could shoot multiple charged blasts at a slow rate of fire and two smart bombs. All of Star Wolf's fighters had a red and gray coloration.

With no luck of spotting either fighters, Fox found someone else instead. Another Arwing whipped right over head of his; in that split second, time seemed to slow as he spotted the pilot. _Krystal..._

She hadn't noticed him; her eyes were locked on her target. She was headed straight for the Convoy's main battle ship that had attracted a swarm of the Aparoid moths that landed on the cruiser and began ripping into it with their legs and blasters. Krystal slowed her speed as she began picking the mechanical insects off the Cornerian cruiser with her laser cannon. _Magnificent aim!_ Fox thought to himself. Within seconds she had destroyed every Aparoid without the cruiser taking a single shot. _She's gotten better..._

Fox heard Wolf's voice again. "Better duck Fox, gotta stampede coming your way." Fox turned his attention from Krystal back to the matter at hand to see the group of fighters Wolf and Leon had been rounding up heading straight for him! Fox pulled up on his controls and bolted straight up, getting out of the way just in time. He continued flying vertically until he was more than four hundred meters above the group, then he flipped around and dove straight towards them.

"You're turn to get out of the way, Wolf." Fox said as he locked onto an Aparoid in the center of the herd. He waited only a moment while Wolf and Leon backed off, then launched a smart bomb and retreated to a safe distance just before it went off, decimating the whole squad.

"That works, though I was enjoying the sight of them running scared." Wolf said.

Leon joined in. "Yeah, it was like shooting Burra in a barrel."

Fox grinned. "Sometimes, it's best to just drop some dynamite in the water."

Falco's voice came over the headset, he sounded irritated. "Hey, are you guys gonna help us clear this perimeter, or are Amanda and I gonna do this by ourselves?!"

"You still got that parakeet flying around with you?" Leon snickered.

"_What_ did you just call me?!" Falco was even angrier now.

Fox intervened before things could escalate. "Alright, let's keep a grip on ourselves. I'm coming over Falco. Wolf, Leon, care to help us out with that perimeter?"

"Fox, we're gonna show you how it's done." Wolf said as he and Leon took off towards the convoy. Fox shook his head then did the same.

They weren't far off from the convoy's battle cruiser. When they reached it they found that Falco and Lucy had already taken out a large majority of the opposition. Fox also noticed that most of the Cornerian fighters had rallied up and joined the cause. He jumped in and began to chase down the remaining fighters in the area. He spotted Krystal doing the same thing about one hundred meters below him. He desperately wanted to radio to her, say something to strike up a conversation. _What the hell am I gonna say?_ He had a feeling she had yet to forgive him for what he did to her on Corneria, but he couldn't help himself. He had to do something, he couldn't just fly around pretending she wasn't there.

Fox noticed a Venomian fighter had got on her tail and decided to help her out; see if she would notice him instead. He flew towards the Venomian and hammered laser blasts into its vessel until it exploded, then placed himself alongside Krystal's fighter. She flew the Cloud Runner, an arwing that Krystal had Slippy design to look like a pterodactyl; a type of dinosaur species. The Cloud Runner was equipped with a twin laser with single lock-on capabilities and one smart bomb.

Krystal noticed the explosion behind her and looked over to see Fox flying by her side. Fox put on a light smile, but her expression turned stone cold as she jerked her fighter away from his and started chasing down a couple Anglers.

_Well, there's your answer Fox. _He thought, his heart aching with desolation.

"Alright Fox, perimeter secure. We're ready to push out." Amanda announced. Her voice was full of adrenaline.

Fox pushed his pain away for the moment, reminding himself that he still had a mission to complete. "Okay then, let's send em runnin." He replied as he faced his fighter away from the convoy and towards the ring of chaos that still surrounded all of them. "Slippy, Lucy, is our escape route still clear?"

"Didn't even have to try!" Lucy said, still filled with excitement. Fox could always tell how much she loved this job. _Why couldn't I see that with Krystal? Why did I have to let fear cloud my view of her? Why...?_

"Thanks to the extra weaponry R.O.B. and I installed on the Great Fox II!" Slippy cheerfully exclaimed.

With that, they all flew straight into different parts of the ring, shattering the enemy force into several small, more manageable groups. Fox's mind was still on Krystal; though this time he made sure to not lose himself so much to thought that he wasn't paying attention. Krystal's position on Star Fox wasn't any different than Lucy's, and yet he had allowed Lucy to remain on the team. It wasn't because he didn't feel responsibility for Lucy; being that she was Peppy's daughter, Fox felt all the more responsible for her. He had just decided it was best to let her make her own choices in what she wanted to do with her life. _Why couldn't I have made that same choice with Krystal? Did my love for her harden me so much that I wouldn't let her choose for herself? Well, you got what you deserve Fox, because there she is; flying with Star Wolf in the same amount of, if not more danger than she was in before. _Fox cringed, squeezing his control stick as if to crush it in his hands_. Not only did you lose her to that, but you also lost her to Panther… Panther! _It was then that it hit Fox._ Where is Panther?! _He did a quick glance all around the area but couldn't find him. _He's probably on the other side of the convoy._

Both teams kept pushing through, dodging scrap and bullets, then returning fire and taking down their adversaries. Falco had target lock on an Angler and was about to shoot, when Leon swooped in and obliterated it before Falco could pull the trigger.

"Hey!" Falco exclaimed, "Just what do ya think you were doin'?! That was my kill!"

"The early bird gets the worm, looks like you're going hungry." Leon replied with a smirk.

"You calling me slow?! You're a freakin' Chameleon!"

"Aw yes, but we move quietly and unseen; and we have a fast tongue to take down our prey. In my case, a blaster does just as good." Leon had a taunting calmness in his voice, riling Falco up even more."

"Why you little piece of dried out..."

"Careful with your temper bird. I may have been paid to help out the Star Fox team and not cause them trouble, but I am more than willing to defend myself if necessary. It doesn't take much to convince me that something is...necessary." Leon's voice had turned sinister, and Fox could tell Falco was about to unleash all hell on the lizard. Fox turned his Arwing around and darted in front of Falco just in time to cut him off from taking a shot at Leon.

"I've had enough of this!" Fox yelled into his headset. "We're here to save lives, not put them in more turmoil by fighting amongst ourselves. Now pull yourselves together, and let's finish this!" Falco and Leon both fell silent and continued the mission.

They all continued to fight until they finally had thinned out the attackers enough that they began to retreat. Aparoids, Anglers, and Venomians alike all turned and high tailed it back to the planet they had mysteriously came from; with Star Fox, Star Wolf, and the Cornerians right on their tail. The Star teams and Cornerians chased the forces from Venom until deemed unsafe to get any closer to the planet, proceeding to turn around and head back to the convoy. Finally, all was quiet and the chaos was over. The Cornerians gathered around the convoy's main battle cruiser and began landing all the damaged fighters in its hangers for repair while the rest took up their spots around the cruiser to provide security on the way back to Corneria.

Fox contacted the cruiser to make sure everything was alright. A young dog answered the transmission.

"Yes sir, we're fine. Can't say it would've been the same if you hadn't showed up though."

"We're happy to help." Fox replied with a smile. "You guys have a safe trip back to Corneria, you hear?"

"Roger that sir. I just have one question before I go."

"Go ahead"

"I thought Venom was done for, that all life on that planet was finished. Sure they would always send us out for security measures, but all the previous times we came up with nothing. Radar, Thermal, Imagery, all quiet. Sir, where in Lylat's name did they come from?"

"I don't know..." Fox said in a grave tone. "But I'm sure once Corneria's government processes all this, they will take major steps to find out."

"I hope this doesn't turn out to be something big. I was quite enjoying our years of peace."

"So was I, soldier. Now get back to Corneria, it shouldn't be long until your intended reinforcements show up to take over."

"Actually sir, my scanners are showing they're still ten minutes out. They said that they ran into another group of the same enemies that were waiting for them near one of the planets they had to pass by to get here. The force was much smaller, they said it was more like a distraction. Something to slow them down and keep them from getting to us in time. Makes me even more thankful that you all arrived when you did."

Now Fox was convinced there was something more to this than a mere suicidal attack. _This was planned out; someone had thought this through. But why? All they would have been able to do was take out one convoy, how could that have helped their cause? All it would do is draw more forces to planet Venom. Forces that would do continual research and exploit any events that were covertly going on under the planet's foggy surface. _Fox shuddered as he remembered his thought of a larger army still hiding on the surface, ready to attack at any time. _Was this the opening act to something bigger?_

Fox brushed away the thought. "Either way, you guys have taken enough damage. Get back to Corneria, we'll stay here until they show up. Wolf, would you and your team mind keeping us company a little longer?"

"Sorry Fox, but we did what we got paid to do. No more, no less. Star Wolf is clearing out."

"I figured as much." Fox muttered a curse to the lazy mercenary team. "Well, until we meet again."

"Pray that we don't, because next time we may not be under friendly terms."

Fox spotted Krystal's fighter flying off into the vastness of space, most likely headed towards wherever Star Wolf planned to rally up. _I dread the day that happens…_

Wolf spoke again, this time with an ominous tone. "Now, before I go Fox, I promised someone that I would let him talk to you, pilot to pilot; which means your team won't be interfering."

"Fox, look out!" Lucy yelled into her head set. Fox looked down at his scanners to see an incoming electric blast headed straight for him from below. He instantly rolled his fighter to the left dodging the blast and the fighter that followed it. Fox recognized its design. It was a triangular fighter with reverse-delta wings and a rear-centered vertical stabilizer. The fighter was only equipped with a smart bomb and a zapper: a slow but powerful electric beam that could vaporize any aircraft. It was when Fox saw the red rose painted on the right side of the fighter's cockpit that his deduction was confirmed. It was Panther Caroso's fighter, with none other than Panther behind the wheel.

"Hello McCloud," Panther began with his soft, yet baleful purr. "You don't know how long Panther has been waiting to have this little meeting with you."

"What's the meaning of this Panther?!" Fox exclaimed, "What did I ever do to ruffle your fur?!"

"Oh, it's not my fur you ruffled, you've merely upset my rose. You know that all my enemies who upset my rose, let alone _see_ her, meet death." Panther swooped around and took another shot at Fox, who bolted forward, clearing the way of the blast.

"This is ridiculous! Wolf, call your boy off!"

"Sorry Fox. We came and did what we were paid to do. Now all bets are off. You'll just have to talk it over, _pilot_ to _pilot_."

Fox gritted his teeth in frustration as he kept his arwing in motion in order to avoid getting disintegrated. _I_ knew _it was a bad idea to call you all in! _"You're only bringing a storm down upon your head Wolf! The Cornerian reinforcements are on their way, and whether or not you've fulfilled your 'contract', they aren't going to take kindly to you attacking one of their allies."

"According to the dog you spoke with on the Cornerian cruiser, Panther has ten minutes to have it out with you. From what I've seen of him when he works, that's _plenty_ of time."

Falco began to dart towards the Black Rose. "Here's problem number two with your plan Wolf, Star Fox isn't just going to stand by while you allow Panther to attack our leader." A heavily charged laser blast interrupted Falco's flight path.

Leon was next to cross his path. "Oh contraire, you feathered rodent. That's _exactly_ what you're going to do."

That was enough to set Falco off again. "Alright you cold blooded dust eater! Let's see how well you use your 'tongue' when a falcon is hunting you down!" He whipped around and began to chase Leon, but before he could fire, the Rainbow Delta vanished before his eyes. "What the? Where the hell did you go?!"

"There's one more thing that makes me all the more superior to you, bird. Not only are we chameleons stealthy movers, but we also have the ability to blend-in with our surroundings. In my case, a cloaking device. You will also notice I have vanished from your radar, making me completely invisible to both you and your fighter. You are not the hunter anymore, falcon; I am."

….

Lucy, Amanda, and Toad watched in shock as Panther came out of nowhere and attacked Fox, and Falco chased Leon off in the distance.

Lucy broke the silence. "We need to help them."

"Then let's get in there! We're not doing any good sitting here with our jaws open!" Slippy said.

"You said it sugar!" Amanda added. The three pilots began to head toward the skirmishes, but went right back to a halt when Wolf zoomed in and placed himself in their path.

"I don't think so. You see, I told Fox he would have to talk it out just him and Panther, and I meant it."

"Go chase your tail Wolf." Lucy replied, "It's all you're good for if you think that you can keep all three of us from aiding our friend."

"You're right, I do seem a little outnumbered don't I?" Wolf instantly rotated his fighter towards Slippy's and hammered laser blasts into his right wing, bursting through the shield and tearing the wing to shreds. Slippy shrieked as he fought to maintain control of his arwing; now that its balance was in turmoil. "There, now I only have two pilots to deal with."

"Slippy!" Amanda exclaimed. She looked back at Wolf, staring him dead in the eyes. "You're going to wish you had never even got in our way!"

"Control your temper woman, and head my warning. I only damaged Slippy's fighter enough to keep him from interfering. He can still make it back to your cargo ship. As for you and your girlfriend, here's what I would suggest. If you look over to your left, you will see that Falco has lost sight of Leon. This is due to a cloaking device that he had installed on his wolfen. Any second now he will reappear and blow that bird to bits. Now, Fox is your leader who is in a completely fair firefight with Panther. You also know Fox to have a much better judgment than Falco, most of the time. I would strongly advise you choose to help the one who is truly in need, instead of your leader who can hold his own."

Amanda and Lucy looked at each other, then Amanda looked back over at Slippy. "Can you make it back hun?"

"Don't worry about me babe, you just help out the others. I'll be fine."

"Be safe."

"Tick tock." Wolf said with a bone chilling grin. "There's Leon now."

Lucy and Amanda watched as the Rainbow Delta began to reappear right behind Falco's fighter.

"Oh, and don't even think about splitting up and helping both. I'll be taking care of whoever tries to head toward 'Star Fox' over there." Wolf added, holding his grin.

The two girls looked at each other. This time Amanda broke the silence. "Alright, let's go save us some falcon tail feathers."

….

Fox maneuvered through the leftover scrap from the battle he had just come out of, dodging blasts from the fighter above him in a battle he just entered into. "Funny thing about the little rose painting on your wolfen, Panther! I've seen it many times, yet here I am still flying!"

"I'm afraid you misunderstand the meaning of Panther's phrase, Fox. Panther no longer refers to the painting on his right. My rose is much more valuable to me. Without her, my life is incomplete. I was truly blessed the day she came into my life." Panther sighed and began to speak in a soft purr as he thought of his 'rose'. "I had never seen anything so beautiful and so majestic as my rose. She was so graceful, so talented, and very strong hearted." Panther's voice turned back to a growl. "She would never accept defeat; she would always fight for what she wanted. Do you know what that was Fox?"

Fox knew very well what it was, as well as who Panther considered his 'rose', and it tormented him to hear it.

Panther continued, "It was family, someone that she could rely on and trust when she was in need; much like you. She had always hoped that_ you _would be her family, that _you_ could be there for her by understanding what she was going through; but there was one thing stopping you wasn't there? Selfishness."

Fox's pain only increased, and began to fuel his rage.

Panther smiled at Fox's silence. "Yes…" He purred, eerily. "Selfishness. You were afraid to lose her and in your fear, in order to feel better about yourself, you withheld her one wish from her. You left her all alone, with no strength to fall back on; but worry not Fox, she is safe. For in her moment of darkness, a light shined bright. She was hesitant at first, but she chose to reach out and grasp it. From that moment on, she felt safe again. She had strength to rely on once more. Star Wolf was that light; we are her family now. She depends on us for strength." Panther paused, savoring the moment and taking pleasure in what he was about to say next. "And she turns to me for comfort. She will never turn to Star Fox again. She will never turn to _you_ again."

Fox had heard everything he could stand. He let out a large cry of anger as he flipped his fighter around and headed straight for Panther, sending a swarm of lasers toward of him. Panther maneuvered through the fusillade and zoomed right over Fox's head. Both fighters flew out a good distance before turning to face each other again.

"Your arwing's firepower is impressive," Panther said with an amused growl, "but it will not help you. You know as well as I that a weapon doesn't win the battle, but the one who wields it. Come, let us duel and find out who is the superior aviator. Face my rose's death sentence, McCloud. Can you overcome it?"

Fox tightened his grip on the Arwing II's controls. "We're about to find out!"

…

Falco frantically searched the area looking for Leon's fighter. "Show yourself you little green coward!"

Leon's voice came over the headset. "This is not cowardice, falcon. This is superiority."

"Why don't you come on out and show me just how 'superior' you are!"

"All in good time, I warned you that we chameleons are slow and steady movers. Patience is key when we are on the hunt. But after a long wait, our chance is upon us." The coms grew eerily quiet, then Leon continued. "Believe me when I tell you, we take it!"

Amanda's voice burst over the coms. "Watch it Falco, he's right behind you!"

Falco looked in his rear view camera panel to see the Rainbow Delta slowly re-appearing behind him, with its laser charged and ready to fire. He jerked his fighter to the right just in time to avoid the blast.

Leon cursed under his breath, but retained his composure. "Your friends have saved you for the moment falcon, but numbers won't gain you victory." With that his fighter vanished again.

"Thanks for the warning." Falco said to Amanda and Lucy as they flew up and started circling the area.

"Happy to assist, but we still have the issue that we don't know where he is." Lucy said.

"There has to be some way to spot him." Amanda said.

Leon's voice re-appeared. "There are none. Even if you do come up with a way, I can hear everything you're saying over the com line." He snickered.

Falco smiled. "Well, we'll just have to fix that little problem won't we? Lucy, Amanda, switch to our _private_ com line." The three pilot's switched to an isolated channel that they had set up for situations such as this. "Can you all read me?"

Amanda and Lucy both acknowledged his question.

"Now that our little eaves dropper can't hear us, I have a plan."

Lucy butted in. "Does that plan involve dodging the smart bomb HEADED STRAIGHT FOR YOU?!"

Falco looked up to see the small red and white diamond shaped object descending upon him. He slammed down on his controls in an attempt to outrun it, but he didn't clear the blast radius in time. The bomb went off, sending Falco's Sky Claw spiraling into the distance, with Falco blacked out in the cockpit.

…..

Fox and Panther set their thrusters to full throttle and headed straight for each other. Fox commenced shooting away at Panther, who performed the same maneuvers as before to dodge the hellfire. They passed by each other once again, both fighters unscathed.

"That's strike two, Fox. Surely you have more to you than that. Don't let your anger cloud your judgment. That's exactly how you lose the match, McCloud."

"Just give me one more pass and I'll show you how clouded my judgment is!"

Panther smiled. "Come, face the sentence of Panther's rose once more."

Fox flipped around and prepared to make another run, but stopped when he heard Krystal's voice come over the com line. "Panther! Stop this madness right now!" Fox shivered at the sound of her words. Even when yelling, her voice was angelic.

Both pilots looked over to see Krystal hovering about four hundred meters away from where they were having their skirmish. "My rose…" Panther responded, sounding like a youngling caught with his hand in a cookie jar. "You were supposed to fly back to the rally point."

"I was, but after I had flown a good distance with nobody following me, I assumed something was wrong and turned around. Looks like I was right!"

"Forgive me, my rose. Whenever we are together you spin tales of how much pain this fox had caused you, all the suffering you experienced on his behalf. Panther is merely here to repay him for bringing his rose strife."

Fox slowly dropped his gaze to the floor of his fighter at hearing of Krystal's continued affliction after he left her.

"That never meant I wanted him dead Panther!" Krystal shouted. "I only needed to share my pain in my times of sadness to help my heart heal!" She paused, calming herself before continuing. "Leave him, come with me. You've proven enough to me."

"This isn't about proving anything, my rose. This is about bringing justice to the one who attacked your heart. His sentence has been passed, he must pay for his crimes."

Wolf had been standing by watching the whole scene unravel, and stepped in to clear Krystal of the battlefield. He launched a tow cable at her arwing, which landed and attached to its rear, and Wolf began to pull her away. Krystal instantly began to fight the Wolfen's pull by flying in the opposite direction.

"Wolf! What are you doing?!" She exclaimed.

"Let the males talk Krystal, this is no place for a lady." Wolf said as he increased the power in his thrusters to counteract the fight Krystal was putting up, with little success.

Panther spoke up. "Don't fight him, my rose. Panther knows you wish no harm upon this fox, but it must be done. One day you will see the light and when you do, you will thank me for my deed."

"Panther no! Please don't do this!" She screamed, continuing to fight Wolf's pull.

"Common Krystal, it's time to go." Wolf said as he reached down and pressed a button on his control panel that sent an EMP wave through the tow cable, powering down her fighter. He then took off with her trailing behind before she could offer further protest.

"Good-bye my rose." Panther muttered softly. He then turned his attention back to Fox McCloud, who looked devastated after hearing all that Krystal and Panther had said. Panther put on a triumphant smile. "Now McCloud, it is time for our final joust. Prepare yourself, for only one of us will emerge victorious."

Fox didn't even glance up at Panther; he already felt defeated. The memory of the night at the bar where he had abandoned Krystal was racing through his head; how she trembled and how her tears fell as she collapsed to the alley floor. _Maybe Panther's right, maybe it's time I did face my crime._ He looked up at the Black Rose that was hovering about seven hundred meters ahead of him. _Alright Panther, you want me? You can have me. _Fox charged up his thrusters, and took off for the final time. _Its better this way Fox,_ he told himself. _It's better this way..._

Krystal's voice stopped Fox's thoughts dead. "Fox, please don't do this! I don't want you dead! Your team needs you!"

"Krystal...?" Fox managed to whisper through the shock of hearing her voice in his head. His vision quickly cleared from the blur of his emotions and focused on a little red and white object coming straight at him. _Smart bomb!_ Before Fox could react, the bomb went off and blasted him back a good distance. Fox felt as if he had just slammed into a brick wall. His head spun as he tried to regain full consciousness and grasp his situation. He was thankful the bomb went off at the distance it did; any closer and he might have been no more. _You're still in this, why?_ Fox asked himself. _What are you fighting for? _He thought of Krystal's words. '_Your team'... _

A new determination emerged inside of him._ You can't abandon them, you won't! Not even for your debt to Krystal..._ Fox winced at the thought. After everything he had put her through, tossing his guilt aside was no easy task; but he would do it. For Star Fox; for his family. When his fighter slowed to a stop, he fought his dazed state trying to find Panther; who he spotted heading straight for him from above.

"You have lost McCloud. Now for my rose's sake, you will meet death!"

Fox tried to move his arwing out of the way of his oncoming doom, but it didn't budge. The blast from the bomb had depleted his shields and knocked the fighter's power out cold. He realized it was over, his luck had finally run out. He closed his eyes and prepared to meet his fate, when he heard Wolf shout over the comm link.

"Panther, look out! We're headed straight for you!"

Fox looked back up and saw Panther fire an electric blast straight at him, but it never made contact. Another spacecraft had flown between him and the shot, taking the impact. Fox watched in horror as he realized the fighter that saved him was Krystal's.

Wolf's fighter was still attached to hers, and as she cleared the way of Panther's flight path, she pulled Wolf right into it. Panther to slammed into the front end of Wolf's wolfen; breaking the tow cable and sending both Panther and Wolf hurtling into the distance.

Fox immediately looked towards Krystal's fighter to assess her status. Her shields had sustained most of the damage from the blast, but her engines had also taken some of the toll. Her arwing drifted lifelessly through space, rotating around to where Fox could see Krystal in the cockpit. He directed his HUD to zoom in on her for a closer view. The shot had knocked her unconscious, but besides a little bruising she appeared to be intact. Fox let out a sigh of relief, but terror immediately filled him again. In his skirmish with Panther, Fox had failed to take note of one thing: they were only about a thousand meters above Venom's atmosphere, and Krystal was drifting straight towards it.

….

Falco came out of his unconscious state, with a small headache as a souvenir. He heard Amanda's voice over the headset.

"Did you see where the bomb came from?!"

"Tracking and chasing, follow my lead!" Lucy responded. Falco looked towards his last position to see Lucy and Amanda chasing...nothing. They were just zipping around and shooting into empty space. On a normal occasion he would've thought them crazy; but with their current opponent, Falco knew it was Leon they were firing at.

_ They got a lock. _Falco thought to himself, a smile creeping onto is face, "We have you now"_. _He looked down at his controls and began to assess the damage done to his fighter. The shields were gone, the body had received some damage, but nothing seemed to be severely out of order. The Sky Claw would still fly. _Slippy will never let me live down losing my shields though. _He thought with a low grunt. He grabbed the controls and flew back towards the action. On his way over he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He looked towards the distraction, and what he saw nearly made his heart stop. "Oh hell no." He whispered.

…..

Fox instantly went into action, pushing the Arwing II's thruster lever forward in order to reach Krystal before she got any closer to Venom's atmosphere. When the fighter didn't budge, he remembered that the blast from Panther's smart bomb had powered it down. He desperately searched for the ignition and attempted to start it back up. The fighter chugged a little, but then fell silent. Fox cursed under his breath. "Come on, come on." After repeating the process a few more times, he looked back up towards Krystal. She was picking up speed as the distance closed between her and Venom, and gravity began to take effect. Fox looked back at his arwing's ignition and continued his attempts. "Come on! Come ON!" Out of his peripheral vision, Fox noticed a sudden amount of activity. He looked back up towards the movement and froze. Emerging from the mist covering Venom's surface came another wave of enemy fighters, much larger in number than the previous group, headed straight towards Krystal and himself. "No... No... No, no, no, NO!" He hit his ignition one more time, and finally had success as his control panel lit up and the fighter's engines roared to life. Fox turned his arwing towards Krystal's and sent his thrusters to full blast, racing the swarm to get to her. He watched as an incoming Angler fighter aimed its blasters toward him, but he stopped its intentions by firing first; blowing the Angler to bits. His shots only gained the attention of three other fighters that converged on his arwing instantly, letting their laser cannon's loose on him. Against his instincts, Fox had to flip around in order to avoid the blasts, leaving Krystal to continue drifting into Venom's atmosphere.

He sped ahead of the group, putting distance between him and them and flying to a higher elevation before he flipped around again and headed straight towards them from above. He looked past all the fighters to see Krystal's Cloud Runner now almost falling into Venom's clutches as gravity took full effect on the fighter and left all weightlessness behind. _Oh no you don't! _Fox increased his arwing's speed and flew right into the storm of enemies, dodging lasers from what felt like every direction. _Why did you have to risk your life to save mine Krystal, WHY?! Panther was right… All I've ever done is cause you pain and suffering. You could've let me be done away with right then and there; never having to worry about me again. Justice would've been done! I would've gotten what I deserved!_

Lucy's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Fox! Do you have a death wish?! Get out of there! You're going to get yourself killed!"

"I should already be dead!" He replied.

"What are you talking about?!"

"Panther had me! He was about to take my life when... when she swooped in..."

"…Krystal?!"

"Yes! She put herself between Panther and I and took the blast for me! Now she's drifting into Venom's atmosphere and I'm going to lose her any second! I won't let her die for my sake! It's my life that should be gone right now, not her's!"

Fox finally made it through the army of fighters, only to watch Krystal's Cloud Runner disappear into Venom's dense blanket of fog. The planet had taken her.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"NO!" Fox cried as he dove in after her without hesitation. The vapors of Venom engulfed his fighter as he began his decent into the heart of the very evil he had combated all his life. The fog took his visual contact with Krystal as well as all other fields of view, yet Fox didn't slow for a second. Instinct had taken over all rational thought; fear and anger pulsed through his veins and drove him beyond his senses. He had forgotten his team up above, forgotten the second wave of fighters, and forgotten the very nature of the planet he was diving into. Only one thing was set in his mind: Krystal would not die here, not now, and not under the current circumstances. He had taken away her family, her security, her strength, and her happiness. _You will not die for me__!_

Fox scanned beyond his cockpit windshield, thirsting to spot Krystal, yet his eyes met nothing but a vast, dense, murky red haze. He looked down at his radar screen and saw no sign of her arwing ahead of him. Fear began to overrule his anger and drown his mind in a sudden flood of nightmares. The fog cleared suddenly cleared, and he spotted Krystal's fighter as it crashed into the ground, disintegrating as would a drop of rain that falls on soil; a fate her flesh shared with the arwing. The spark from the friction of the collision ignited the fuel spilling from its tank, fire flashed, and the explosion followed. Her fur was scorched, her skin turned to ashes, her bones were shards, and her blood was evaporated; Krystal was no more.

Fox began to convulse. _No… No you can't… that can't be it… _He had no physical body to cling to and weep over, no chance to feel the last traces of her warmth before it left her, no final glance at her beautiful face. Her delicate voice would only haunt him in his dreams, never to sing through the universe again; she was erased from existence. Fox grasped his head, flattening his ears with his palms and pressing into his skull with his fingers; his claws drawing blood that trickled down his face as he dragged them towards his forhead. Fox felt none of it, for the pain of the hellish nightmare overwhelmed his entire being.

Through all of this, one regret tore at him worse than anything comprehensible. Three words had haunted him during Krystal's life, and only tormented him harder after her death. Fox lifted his hands from his head and looked upon them. He saw the blood that covered them, though he knew it not as his own, but as Krystal's. A tear fell from his eye, mixing with the red liquid streaming from his scalp, as it ran down his cheek. "I'm so sorry..." He spoke in a ghostly whisper. Fox looked up from his fit of trembling, another tear rolling down his face as he choked out his next three words. "I love you."

A familiar male voice suddenly filled Fox's head. _Just a dream! _The voice was followed by a sudden beeping from the Arwing II's control panel that drew Fox out of the nightmare and back to his conscious state. He looked at the source of the noise and realized he had five seconds before he flew straight into Venom's surface. He felt no urge to react, he wanted to die.

_JUST A DREAM!_

Again Fox recognized the voice. _Father?!_ In that split second, hoping the words were true, Fox's instincts kicked back in as he grabbed his controls and yanked on them with a force he had used only a few times in his life. The fighter pulled up just enough to avoid a nose dive into the rocky terrain, however nothing could be done to escape the bottom of the arwing smashing into the ground and grinding away as it began to slow to friction.

Fox shut his eyes and gritted his teeth as he waited for it to end. He felt the fighter ram into something large, yet instead of bursting through the obstacle, the Arwing II gave, flipped over into the air, and landed belly up; continuing to slide along the surface. Fox was losing consciousness due to being thrown back and forth into the walls of his cockpit window in the process. He opened his eyes, fighting his blurred vision as he assessed his situation. Fox looked toward the ground and noticed something strange. It wasn't rock he was sliding down anymore, it was steel pavement. His fighter was sliding down a highway.

Before Fox could think any further, his head was thrown into his forward view window as the arwing smashed through another large object and came to an abrupt halt. The last thing he saw as his eyes rolled up into his head was the slow and constant flashing of the lights in his HUD, his control panel, the road he had rocketed down, and large pieces of rubble falling from above and shattering into the ground; then all went dark.

…...

Lucy and Amanda both slowed their fighters to a halt when their eyes fell upon the incoming armada.

"Oh hell no." They heard Falco say over the com set. The two girls looked at each other and then back at the swarm. All three Star Fox pilots could find nothing further to say. Finally, Falco broke the silence.

"Reinforcements are still four minutes out."

"We're gonna have to fall back to the Great Fox II if we have any hope of surviving this. Everyone, switch back to the original frequency!" Amanda stated, switching her comm channel to the frequency of the Great Fox II. "Slippy, you there sugar? Please tell me you made it back alright..."

The high pitched, out of breath reply brought relief to the trio. "Yeah… by the… skin on my… bones! But I'm… alright. I'm heading up to… the bridge now. How are things… going?"

Falco butted in, urgency poured from his beaked mouth. "Not hot Slip', turns out Venom wasn't done serving us ugly bastards! We're bookin' it back to the Great Fox ourselves; we're gonna need some serious firepower if we hope to survive the next four minutes."

"I'll see what I… can do, but with all… that we used during the first… skirmish, it's gonna be tight!"

"It'll have to do... we got no other choice." With that Falco whirled his fighter around and shot out towards the team's mother ship. Amanda left next and Lucy was about to follow, when she suddenly realized something was missing. _Fox!_

She searched every sector of her field of view, checking each vessel coming her way, trying to pick out any familiar characteristics of the Arwing II. She didn't have to look long, for when she saw it, the arwing was flying ahead of the group, headed straight towards her. Lucy allowed her tense muscles to relax, but they seized right back up as she watched Fox's arwing turn around, fly above and straight back into the hoard. She immediately increased her radio frequency range and attempted to contact him.

"Fox! Do you have a death wish?! Get out of there! You're going to get yourself killed!"

"I should already be dead!" He replied.

Lucy was taken back. She remembered his engagement with Panther. _Had he lost?_ "What are you talking about?!"

"Panther had me!

_Yep._

He was about to take my life when... when she swooped in..."

_She... She... _"Krystal?!"

"Yes! She put herself between Panther and I and took the blast for me! Now she's drifting into Venom's atmosphere and I'm going to lose her any second! I won't let her die for my sake! It's my life that should be gone right now, not her's!"

Lucy didn't even realize that she lost sight of Fox as panic set in. She knew he had to save Krystal, but she also didn't want to see anything happen to him. She had grown so accustomed to having him as a captain. Due to the loss of her mother, Fox was the closest thing to family she had. She was fortunate enough to still have her father, but he was always so occupied with his business as General of the Cornerian Army that he never had time for her. Fox had taken her in and taught her the skills she would need to succeed in this life. He had comforted her in times of grief, protected her in times of danger.

A loud cry from Fox brought her out of her zoned state. "NO!" He exclaimed.

Lucy's heart started racing. "Fox? Fox?! Can you hear me?! What's going on?!" No answer, Lucy's heart-rate increased. "Fox! Come in Fox! Do you copy?!" Still silence. _Don't die on me Fox. Please... Don't leave me..._

Falco's voice replaced Fox's. "Lucy, you wanna get your pretty little cotton tail outta there? You got about fifteen seconds before those fighters are in blastin' range of you!"

Lucy cleared her mind and tuned back into her current situation to find truth in Falco's words. She spun her fighter towards the Great Fox II and set her thrusters to full blast in order to have any hope of staying ahead of the coming storm. _Hell Fox, I might just be dying with you..._

…_..._

_ Someone… Help me…_

Fox jolted awake with a short, sharp cry at the sound of Krystal's pleading. There was something strange about her voice. He hadn't heard it externally, he heard it internally; inside his head, just like before she had saved his life from Panther. Fox had heard her in his head, pleading with him not to deliver himself into Panther's hands. _Her telepathy... _That only meant one thing. _She's still alive!_

Fox looked down at his chest where the buckle held the straps together that kept him stationary in the arwing. He pressed the button to release the buckle and instantly dropped from his seat, slamming head first into his cockpit window, the rest of his body crumpling down afterwards. Fox's head ignited with a fierce, throbbing pain as he remembered that his ship had flipped over before coming to a slamming halt into some kind of structure. The next thing he noticed was a sudden wet sensation he felt in the fur on the back of his head, neck, and any other exposed posterior area of his body. Fox let his head roll to one side and felt the moisture creep up his cheek as he laid eyes on the red liquid he was lying in. He lifted his hand and held it above his face, watching the scarlet fluid drip from his fingertips; feeling each one land on his snout. Fox let out another short lived holler as the agonizing pain rushed through his head again. He recalled his nightmare, how he had driven his claws into his skull and dragged them to his brow_. _He remembered the crash the followed, how he had been tossed around in his seat like a rag doll; his head slamming all over the cockpit. Another bolt of pain rippled through his cranium as he remembered the winning blow, when his ship plowed into whatever it was in its path, and momentum carried his forehead straight into his forward window panel. Fox let his hand and arm fall back into the cool, widespread, shallow puddle. _Blood... this... this is my blood; this is a LOT of my blood… _

The impulse to pass out came over him again due to his sudden knowledge of his blood-loss. Dizziness set in and Fox began to feel very light headed. Then he remembered Krystal's cry for help. _No! You can't die here. You... you have... you have to save... save... her... _Fox was slipping from consciousness fast. He focused on Krystal, not knowing what state she was in. All he knew was that she was alive, and he was the only one on Venom who had any chance of reaching her. He opened his previously closing eyes as a fiery passion and determination radiated from his hazel green irises. _You have to save her!_

Fox rolled onto his side, ignoring the chill caused by his blood that continued to soak his fur and seep through his clothes as he brought himself to his knees. He looked up and around his tightly enclosed prison, giving his eyesight a moment to clear itself of the fog brought about by his movement. Fox violently curled over as an overwhelming nausea rose in his stomach. _Calm down. Just breath and stay calm. _Fox remained still, taking deep breaths until the nausea subsided.

Once under control, Fox took another look around until he could perceive everything as it was. He searched for something he could use to break through the canopy of his arwing. _My rifle! _Fox looked over at the compartment that every arwing was built with to hold an aviator's firearm while in flight; the weapon was still there. He grabbed and yanked it out of the holder, taking a brief moment to inspect it.

Fox carried a fully automatic laser rifle. He never considered it anything special, it was the standard issue of every soldier in the Cornerian Army. Few could match its precision and accuracy, and its power far outdid the weapons of the past; which fired mere brass bullets. It was built with carbon fiber materials, so it was lightweight and could be quickly and easily maneuvered. However, thanks to Slippy, who also had a knack for weaponry mechanics, some upgrades and extra attachments gave Fox's blaster an edge that placed it above most of its kin.

Upon completion of the short examination, Fox flipped the blaster around in order to use the butt of the weapon to break through the canopy trapping him in his fighter. He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, summoning as much energy as he could. Arwing protective canopies were made of dense polycarbonate, built to withstand blows from miniature asteroids as large as a meter in diameter, traveling at speeds of up to ten thousand kilometers-per-hour. The only hope Fox had of smashing through said cover was due to the cracks already placed in the windshield from the crash.

He aimed at a good sized fracture, grasped his rifle with both hands as tight as his muscles would allow, swung the blaster above and past his right shoulder, and brought the butt of it right down on the center of the crack with enough force to shatter a concrete brick; no change. He swung again, nothing; the crack remained its original size. Fox took a deep breath, then began continuously swinging at the polycarbonate. He hit it a third time, then a forth.

_ Come on! _His mind begged in desperation.

A fifth, a sixth.

_Please just break!_

Seventh, eighth.

Fox's thoughts met his voice. "Damn window! Break!"

Ninth, tenth.

"You piece of shit! Why," eleventh, "won't" twelfth, "you", thirteenth, "just" fourteenth, "break?!"

He went for another blow, but fell flat on his back mid-swing, splashing back down into the crimson pool beneath him. With the pain of his head overwhelming him and his energy depleted, Fox couldn't even summon anything to release a howl of anger. He just lay there, his backside soaking in blood, feeling defeat.

_No!_ He scolded himself, _you aren't giving up! If there is ANY chance Krystal is still out there, you will, not, quit!_ Fox looked around thinking of another way out. He didn't dare try shooting through the cover, lest the blast bounce right back into his face. Since the fighter was upside down, opening the hatch was out of the question. That's when it hit him. _We're just going to have to get this fighter right side up!_

He looked through the window and observed the angle of his fighter. The nose was touching the ground and pointing towards the opening left by the arwing in whatever it was it smashed into, which meant the engines were aimed towards the inside of the structure; angled towards the ceiling. If the Arwing II had any power left, he could channel it to the boosters, which would, in turn, propel the ship forward. Hopefully the nose would collide with something solid and strong, or drive into the pavement beyond; creating a friction powerful enough to catch the fighter and cause it to flip over onto its belly. _Then I'll be able to pry this blasted cover open! _

Fox rolled back up onto his knees, placed his rifle back in its compartment, and looked up at the switch that powered his fighter and flipped it to the on position, no response. "Yeah... that's what I thought… Still might have the reserves!" _Though I'll have to route it to the booster engines manually._ He slowly got to his feet, maneuvering his head between the seat and the dash board, obtaining a position where he was looking down at what was normally considered 'underneath the control panel'. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a single bladed pocket knife that his father gave him as a kit. Flipping the blade out, he used it to carefully pry off the metal sheet that hid and protected the wires in the dash. Once the panel was removed, Fox smoothly put the knife back in its pocket of origin. A corner of his mouth curved into a smile. "Thanks dad." He quietly remarked.

Looking into the opening he created, Fox caught sight of a small glowing light bulb that indicated there was still reserve power. "Now we're getting somewhere." He set to work on the wiring, directing power to the engines and saving a fraction of it for the control panel in order to fire up said engines when ready. Fox was no mechanic or electronics engineer, but he always made sure he knew just enough to get himself out of situations such as these should the need ever arise. Back during his training on Corneria, it was a requirement of every pilot. After a couple minutes of work, and a time or two of getting a slight zap from electricity, the power was connected to exactly where Fox wanted it.

He replaced the cover to the opening in the dash and dropped back down to his knees. _Time for a little calisthenics. _He thought with a smirk. Facing the opposite direction of the seat, he reached up and got a firm grip on the armrests. Then he pulled himself up with his arms, simultaneously using the rest of his upper/mid body to roll up into the natural position of one sitting in a cockpit. Fox was upside down at this point, and by tucking his legs underneath his seat he was able to hang in place while he strapped himself in tight. He could feel the blood rushing to his head. _Better do this quick._

Fox turned on his control panel and brought his engines roaring to life. He then tucked his chin into his chest and held it there by wrapping an arm over his head. _No injuries this time._ His free arm and hand reached over to the thruster lever and grasped it firmly. _And in three, two, one._ Fox sent the lever to its forward position. The boosters sent fire spitting from their pipes, and the fighter gradually began to edge forward before blasting off at a remarkable speed.

The nose of the spacecraft instantly barreled through one side of the structure's opening and pierced into what Fox recognized to be a hover-car. The vehicle slid with the arwing until it slammed into a second hover car, bringing it to a halt and giving just the resistance he was looking for. The rear half of the jet shot skyward, and the entire thing fell over onto its underside. Fox had kept one hand on the thruster and immediately pulled it back the moment his arwing was right side up. The engines slowly died, and all was quiet.

Fox breathed a sigh of relief, then began to chuckle like a merry mad genius. "It worked." He said, pausing from his chuckling but starting right back up after his statement was finished. He placed his hands on his head and slid them down his face, feeling the still-damp blood that had soaked nearly all his fur and clothing. He paused his chuckling again. "I can't believe it worked!" He looked up and took in his surroundings through the transparent red fluid that now coated his windshield; the air of his mood quickly became serious and edgy. The mist wasn't as thick on Venom's surface, and it revealed the complete view of what happened on the planet.

For a time, Venom had flourished with cities not much smaller than those on Corneria. Fox had landed in the outskirts of one of them, or at least, what was left. Not a living soul could be seen. The only thing that filled Fox's eyes was the sight of buildings that were demolished or badly damaged, hover-cars and trucks that would never run again, steel streets that were warped, full of cracks, and strewn with rubble, skeletons of trees and bushes that had once burst with life; all covered in a gloomy red hue that suffocated it all.

Suddenly it came again: the angelic, yet terrified voice of the one who was down here with him; ringing through his head. _Someone... please... help me..._

Her words were weak and filled with terror. All thoughts occupying Fox's conscience died out, and his main mission took over. _I'm coming Krystal. Don't worry, I'm coming!_ He thought as strong as he could, hoping she could hear his message. He knew she was hurt and didn't have much time left; if it wasn't too late already. _Either way, I'm not wasting another second in this cockpit!_

He unbuckled himself and went for his blaster from its compartment, but a thought stopped him. _Venom's air probably isn't the safest to breath with its nuclear history. Better grab a mask. _He reached over to a side compartment, and pulled out a small, black, cylindrical shaped mask that was designed to fit snug over the snout; allowing the wearer to breathe filtered oxygen. He remembered his headset when it provided resistance against applying the mask. Fox set the muzzle down and removed the headset to examine it. _Pretty much done for… _

The eye visor had snapped off, the mic piece was bent and deformed, and the body was dinged up enough that the internal parts had to have taken damage. _At least you helped protect my skull, and thank Lylat that visor didn't pierce my eye! _Fox dropped the headset at his feet and picked up the snout filter.

After strapping it on, he took a moment to wrap his maroon red shemagh around his neck in a way that covered more of his skin, and he rolled his sleeves down along his forearms. His clothing was no radiation proof suit, but with Krystal's life on the line, skin exposure was a risk he was willing to take. Once finished, he looked at the button to release the lock that held the canopy down to the titanium frame of the cockpit. Fox sent up a quick prayer before pressing it. He heard the sound of a loud click, and the cover was released from its holster. _Thank Lylat!_ He placed his free hand on the cover and pressed upwards, flipping it over and allowing himself to climb out of the Arwing II unhindered.

The moment he stood fully encompassed in Venom's atmosphere was when he met, for the first time, the humid heat that the planet contained. It was worse than any desert Fox had visited, or lived in for that matter on his home planet, Papetoon. The heat seemed to vacuum the very energy from his very body, while the moisture clung to his fur and clothes till he was nearly soaked, further dampening the blood that also clung to him, creating a sticky feeling all over his being.

He hopped off the arwing and landed softly on the ground. An overwhelming chill ran through his entire body. Fox had been on Venom before, but never had he actually come in contact with the planet. He had always flown at least one hundred meters above it. Now here he was, on its very surface, roaming its very grounds. He could feel a malicious aura about the place, an eerie force that haunted its grounds, and Krystal was here. _Please Krystal, PLEASE be alright..._

In that moment, Fox laid eyes on the first singed corpse lying on the Venom's surface. His vision caught sight of another inside the cab of a hovercraft; parts of its skeleton showed through its crisp, rotting flesh. More and more began to appear before him, spread throughout the street in varying locations; each posed in its own tormented position. Fox began to feel fear growing inside him again as he thought of the terrible things that could've happened to Krystal. _What if something found her? It could be causing her to suffer right now, and I'm not there to stop it..._

Fox started to hear her cries of pain, cries filled with misery and sorrow. Fox tried to remind himself of his vision during his descent. _Not real Fox, not… _The cries grew louder and louder. _Real…_ Nothing could be heard now but her tormented screams. Fox looked in every direction trying to find any sign pointing to her location, his panic rising beyond control. _Krystal, I can't… where are… where are you?! _

The sounds became deafening and he clamped his hands around both his ears. _Please stop hurting her… _He begged desperately. Fox fell to his knees, his head feeling ready to explode. _Please, LEAVE HER ALONE!_ As he was slowly headed into a state of shock, he felt a hand placed upon his shoulder. The screaming ceased and not a further sound was heard. He remained still for a few moments, gathering himself and coming to terms with reality, before looking up slowly. His heart stopped at what he saw; Fox was looking into the eyes of his father.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"I've gotta get out there and help her!" Amanda said anxiously, "She's not going to make it!"

"You aren't going anywhere!" Slippy yelled, "Lucy's got enough experience to save herself, and I won't have my wife flying into that mess!"

"Besides, not like we have much of a chance surviving ourselves; either." Falco stated coolly.

Amanda's face was turning red from anger. "Falco, shut up! Slippy?!"

Slippy's high and mighty tone dropped back down to its pitiful, normal pitch. He'd heard his wife say his name that way many a time before. "Yes dear?"

Amanda's voice took up a pleasant and sweet manner. "That's my dear friend Lucy out there. You know I would do anything for you, but I would also do anything for her. Now I'm gonna go and give her a hand and save her life, okay sweetie? I do promise to be careful."

"But-!" Slippy rejected.

Amanda cut him off. "Bye baby." She said in a sweet, playful manner, before setting off to save her friend.

"No! Amanda, get back here! I am your husband and you will obey me!" Slippy got no response. "Please?"

"Face it Slip', it's just you and me now." Falco snickered.

"Big help! It was your idea to come back to the Great Fox II! What was your comment about us, 'not surviving', all about?!"

"I said it was our only _chance_. I never said it would actually _work_."

"Oh ya? Well if you're so sure we're gonna die, why don't you just fly away?! Escape while the fleet is distracted with the rest of us!"

"I'm thinkin' about it." Falco said with a smirk.

Slippy said nothing, just slammed his head down on the control panel in front of him.

…...

_Common Lucy, you're almost there, about another minute..._ Lucy glanced over her shoulder. _Dear Lylat, they're right behind me!_ She watched as a Venomian fighter took the first shot at her. She pushed down on her control wheel in order to avoid it, just to pull up again; avoiding a second shot. A flurry of laser blasts followed and Lucy spun into a barrel roll that carried her upwards while deflecting the blasts off of her fighter. _Please, oh please don't die! This can't be it! _Fear quickly turned to embarrassment. Lucy got a hold of her quivering. _Get a grip!_ _Fox flew straight into this hoard and made it, hopefully… T-There's no reason you can't keep ahead of them for another thirty seconds! _She continued darting left and right, up and down, throwing in a barrel roll whenever there were too many blasts to dodge.

"Lucy, duck!"

Lucy quickly lowered her fighter and watched a smart bomb shoot right over her head and back toward her pursuers. Tracing the trail of the bomb, she found Amanda's fighter to be the source. Lucy breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, Amanda! Thank you!"

"Don't thank me yet! That hardly slowed them down, we need to go!" Amanda drifted her fighter around and took off in the other direction, with Lucy hot on her heels.

Slippy's voice came over their headsets. "Common girls! You're almost within my firing range, give it all you got!"

The enemy planes were gaining on the two females, who continued to desperately try to escape the fate that each shot from their pursuers contained. In the midst of the dashing around, Lucy kept her eyes trained on the team's mothership; they only had ten seconds until they reached it. She sent up a quick prayer of hope. _Please! If anything is up there, if anyone is watching over us. Spare us!_

…_..._

Fox's eyes didn't leave his father's. He had no words to say, not even a single thought. He just laid there; staring at the being that he thought had died many years ago. His dad, James, broke the silence.

"Get up, Fox." James said, reaching out his hand as he spoke.

Still dumbfounded, Fox took the hand that James offered. Once pulled to his feet, he finally found words. "Father?"

"I'm here son." He said with a soft smile.

"No... No you can't be..." Fox looked away, trying to make sense of what was happening, but nothing would suffice. His dad was dead. Even if he had survived his battle with Andross all those years ago, Venom's nuclear cleansing would've finished him off. _Then again, there is the mysterious survival of the fleet I faced off with nearly hours ago..._ Fox looked his father over, not noticing a single scratch on him. James looked exactly as Fox had last seen him, virtually a decade ago. James and Fox were spitting images of each other. Even their clothing was identical due to Fox's childhood passion to follow in his father's footsteps. The only noticeable differences between the two were: James' fur contained a bit more of a red hue, and was grayer; due to their obvious difference in age.

Upon viewing his dad's face, Fox noticed that his father was wearing no oxygen filtration mask. _Added with constant skin exposure, breathing this radiation would've killed you long ago..._ Not knowing what to think anymore, Fox was overcome with a sudden feeling of helplessness and vulnerability. He lowered his perplexed stare towards the ground. The nightmares that plagued him of Krystal's suffering and the reappearance of his long dead father were slowly throwing his mind into disarrangement. He looked back up at his father, though his gaze traveled straight through James' body. "What's going on?" Fox whispered. His tone was very distant, as if no one were there to hear it.

"Nothing with a logical explanation." James said with a smirk. "Venom is a dangerous place, full of lies and deceit." He looked off to his right, taking on a very solemn manner." There are powers on this planet few know about or choose to believe in, powers that were never meant to be tampered with. Life had no business here, only death and destruction." James paused, his face revealed a hint of strife. "When Andross came along, the planet felt his desires and saw its chance to spread the pain and suffering it creates, beyond its rocky surface. The powers consumed him, which he gratefully allowed, and twisted his intentions beyond what one would consider morally possible. Thus the Lylat Wars began, and the strife lives on to this day."

Fox began to withdraw from his desolate state, his eyes locked back onto those of his dad. "What are you?" He asked, still very vacant.

"I'm no different than the nightmares you see of Krystal, nothing more than her scream that causes you shudder and shed tears of misery; pleading desperately for it to be over."

Fox closed his eyes, tucking his chin into one of his shoulders as anger and sorrow began to stream through him. "You're just another _damn_ vision..."

James took a moment to find his voice. "Your thoughts do not betray you, son... I died long ago... However, these visions you have don't originate from your own mind. Venom has a long deprived thirst for your blood. It thirsts for _anyone _who dares stand up to it. It wants you to suffer and above all else, it wants you dead. None of these dreams you've had are real, merely attempts on your life. It feels your passion and love for Krystal, and it aims to use it against you. It nearly succeeded on your way down to the planet." He grabbed Fox firmly by the shoulders, looking him dead in the eye. "Do not allow yourself to succumb to the nightmares, your greatest trial yet is approaching. Krystal's time is growing short, as well as the time of every single being in Lylat. If there is _any_ chance to prevent this, it will be lost if you allow yourself to be bogged down by these tormenting thoughts."

Fox glared back at his father. "How do I know you aren't another cursed demon from this planet?" He broke away from his father's grasp. "How can I trust a word you say?! For all I know, my sanity is completely gone! I may already be _dead_!"

James looked upon Fox with sympathy. "You can't… Any explanation I give you will be no more trustworthy than the last. The only assurance I can give you is this: When you ended your second encounter with Andross, who was it that led you out of Venom's heart?"

Fox went back to the memory of that day: the end of the final era of the Lylat Wars. Through caves that led down into the deep, dark, stone heart of Venom, Fox found and faced off with Andross for the second time in his life. Andross' form had substantially changed from that of a gorilla. He had taken on the form of a large spirit, who's only physical parts where his head and two hands; all three parts greatly outsized Fox's arwing. The two traded blows back and forth; Fox fired away at the beast while dodging the ginormous hands that swiped at him. Fox gained the upper hand, and when all hope for Andross was lost, the brute detonated himself in hopes of taking Fox down with him. Fox believed he was going to die, the blast had happened too quickly for him to react to it, but in that moment a voice called out to him; the voice of his father. "Don't ever give up, my son."

"Father?!" Fox had responded.

"Follow me Fox." Was James' reply.

In the brightness of the blast, Fox caught sight of his father's arwing and followed him back through the tunnels and out to safety; barely clearing the explosion. Afterwards his father vanished, and Fox hadn't seen him again, until now.

Fox slowly returned from his memory.

"It... it was _you_. You... you saved me that day." Fox's head was beginning to clear. "Your spirit has been stuck on this planet all this time... How?"

Suddenly James hollered in pain, curling over towards the ground; nearly falling to it.

"Father!" Fox rushed to his side, helping him stand up straight again. "Are you okay?!"

James winced, trying to fight the remaining torment. "It's found me..."

"It?! What the hell is going on?!"

"My time with you is nearing an end; my message has been delivered." James looked upon Fox with eyes filled with urgency. "Listen to your fears no longer and overcome Venom's grasp on you. Never give up Fox; trust your instincts."

Fox blinked and upon opening his eyes, James was gone.

"No!" Fox cried, reaching out towards the area his father last stood as if to stop him from leaving. "Please don't leave me father..." He quietly begged as a tear built up and streamed out of his eye. _Please... come back..._ His feelings for his father had just begun to awaken as his confusion was set at ease. He never got to tell him that he loved him, to tell him of the inspiration that he had been to him. Never in Fox's life had he imagined getting the opportunity to see his father again, and now the chance had come and gone before he could speak his mind. Instantaneously, fury filled every fiber as Fox's body. He picked up a small piece of rubble and threw it at his arwing. "Why?!" He screamed, dropping to his knees as he screamed out again, "WHYYY?!" Fox fell to his hands. _I lost my mother to Andross, I lost you to him too! And Krystal... _The agony of his fears returned. It was then that Fox noticed a burnt hand lying just ahead of him. He eyes traced from the hand, up the arm, and ended at the face; one that he recognized all too well.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this Fox." His mother said, her expression was warm and compassionate; her voice as soft and sweet as when she told stories and sung lullabies to him as a cub. She looked just as Fox remembered her. Sleek, orange, well groomed fur enwrapped her body. Pure white fur overlaid her muzzle and cheeks. Her form was that of a goddess. A smooth, silk, pearl-white dress draped over her coat; her hands and forearms encased in gloves of the same fashion. James always spoke her name with such delicacy: Vixy.

The sight of her laying on this planet sucked the very breath from Fox's lungs; even his thoughts fell silent.

Without warning, Vixy screamed out in misery as her singed hand began to infect her arm and travel all throughout her body, turning her beautiful fur and silk clothing into coal-black powder.

"Mother!" Fox grabbed her arm and pulled himself closer to her, but there was nothing to be done. The burn finished by engulfing her face, and her whole body turned to ash.

Another familiar voice spoke. "These things happen son." Fox fought past his tears to see the source of the voice further ahead. "You can't stop them." His father said, before he too wailed, and transformed into a pile of ash.

Fox attempted to clear his mind. _Common Fox, get in control! This isn't real, this isn't real…_

"Fox…" A third voice said.

Fox froze. He couldn't look towards her, he couldn't face what he knew he was about to see.

"Fox…" She said again.

Fox's eyes were slowly drawn to her; against his will. Krystal stood the furthest of the two ash piles, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Krystal! You… I… come with me, we have to run!"

She didn't budge.

"Please! I have to get you out of here!" Fox begged.

"You left me Fox; you left me all alone in the dark." Krystal sobbed.

He cringed at her words. Nothing compared to their fierce sting. "I'm sorry…" He cried, once again visualizing the night he abandoned her in that backstreet alley. "I only meant to protect you, I just wanted you safe!"

"I'm scared Fox…" There was a slight pause before she shrieked and collapsed to the ground. Bones began to pierce out of her skin, causing trails of blood to leak out all over her body. She continued to yowl out in anguish while she lay hopeless on the ground.

"NO!" Fox yelled, throwing himself towards her.

Krystal slowly fell silent, the last bit of her soothing voice cracking as it left her. Her eyes and mouth remained open as if she were still screaming. Fox knew she was dead; yet the bloody, mangled position that her spirit left her body in portrayed her continued suffering.

"KRYSTAL!" Fox screamed, gently grasping her and holding her in his arms. He hardly recognized her now: her fur had turned red from blood, Fox felt her body and discovered in horror that her whole skeletal system was shattered; leaving her in a mushy, disfigured state. The Krystal he knew and loved was gone.

The mental weight of all three deaths started to physically shut Fox down. His hands began to numb, followed by his arms and his chest. Within seconds, he had lost all feeling in his body. "It's over…"He breathed, giving in to a silent call to fade from consciousness and give up his life. _I failed._

For a final dose of bitter sweet happiness, Fox went to press Krystal's body as close to his as possible; hoping to feel her warmth one last time. He received no such comfort; her body was gone. He opened his eyes, expecting to see a pile of ash at his knees, but found nothing; Krystal had simply vanished. Fox looked at the ground behind him in search of the black piles that were once his mother and father; they were missing as well. He looked back to where Krystal's body once was. There were no traces of blood, not the smallest hint that she was once there. Fox noticed that his strength had returned; he could function again. Fox clenched his fists in vexation over remembering his father's warning about Venom's plague. _Just one more thing I failed at..._

Alongside the grief, Fox was equally filled with curiosity. _What caused it to stop? It had me right there! My body was quitting on me; I was ready to die… I wanted to die!_ Fox shivered as what felt like an ice cold bullet shot down his spine. _Why am I still alive?_ He ran through three different possibilities, the first two provided no answer. He was too weak to fight the dream himself, and his father was nowhere to be found; thus it was unlikely that his dad stepped in again. The last scenario was the most chilling. _Venom changed its mind._

If what James said was true that the planet craved Fox's suffering and death, then his survival only meant that Venom had something else in store for Fox; something worse. _Clock's ticking… _He thought to himself. "How long…" He murmured. Strangely, the idea gave Fox a pinch of hope. He didn't know what was ahead, or when it would occur. What he did know was that he had gained more time, gained another shot at rescuing Krystal. He was unsure of how long the nightmare had lasted, but it didn't matter. He would pick up her trail, and not stop hunting until he found her.

Fox got to his feet, grabbing his rifle as he stood. His fear was replaced by determination; his anger became his fuel. He returned to his arwing to load himself up with some extra gear. He had no idea who or what he would encounter on his quest, and he wanted to make sure he was ready. He used the left wing of the fighter as a ramp to reach the cockpit.

Once there, he pulled out a metal box roughly half the size of himself. Setting it on the wing, he unlatched the lid, opened it, and pulled out a dark-grey tactical vest equipped with three fully-charged laser rifle power cells, two small scale smart bombs, two flash grenades, three self-sustaining, energy-lit orbs that acted as flares, a compass, a tactical knife with a fifteen centimeter fixed blade, a small first aid kit, and a hydration pack built into the back side of the vest; which he filled using the emergency water tank all space fighters contained.

Fox took a good sized drink from the water pouch by attaching the drinking tube to a port built into his filtration mask for that very purpose. Once done he topped off the pouch, then slipped the entire vest on over his coat and strapped it snug to his body. Fox wiped a buildup of sweat off his forehead, wishing he could take the jacket and his shemagh off. "Can't risk it_._"He muttered. Musty and broiling as the atmosphere was, he wouldn't expose any more of his skin to the radiation filled air than he had to. Fox made some adjustments to his shemagh; ensuring it still covered his entire neck. The action triggered a memory: the shemagh had been another gift from his father; the last Fox had ever received from him.

It was on the morning James left Papetoon for the last time; Fox was fifteen years old. He was reminded of the rage and the hate he felt towards his father that day. "It's on a dumb suspicion! The military is ALWAYS jumping at the slightest sound of danger!"

James spoke softly, not wanting to stir up anymore tension than already present. "A threat is a threat son. My job is to respond to any signs of hostile activity; even on suspicion."

"But look at where you're going! You were the one who always told me how dangerous that place was! That no pilot, no soldier, not a single _damned_ explorer has dared venture into that shit-hole since its discovery!"

"Watch your mouth. You know your mother wouldn't want you speaking like that."

Fox lost it. He grabbed a small wooden table with a vase sitting upon it, and chucked it across the room. The sound of both vase and table smashing against the wall roared through the whole house. "MOM'S NOT HERE!" Fox instantly stopped, realizing what he had done. He waited for his father's outraged response. There had always been a tension between Fox and James ever since Vixy's death. Whenever they got on the topic, both foxes would wind up at each other's throats by the end of it.

Yet in lieu of retaliating, his dad just stood calmly and quietly, with a look of pity and sorrow on his face. Fox determined James was waiting for him to finish; this made Fox even angrier. _You want me to finish?! Fine! I'm going to let you have it! _"That bastard killed her!" He yelled. "How?! How could you _let_ that _bastard_ kill her?!" He glared at James, who had hung his head during the assault. Fox said nothing else, feeling pride at his father's silence. _What are you gonna come up with this time?! _The pride was crushed when his father lifted his head and Fox saw the tears that swelled in his eyes.

"That's why I have to go. If there is even the smallest possibility that _bastard_ may still be alive, I have to find him. He deserves nothing but justice for what he did to your mother; to my wife…" James trailed off and lowered his gaze, but quickly built up the strength to continue. He looked Fox dead in the eye. "If he is still breathing: I, will, kill him."

Fox looked down at the ground. A few moments passed before he found his voice again. "Fine, go die like everyone else." He turned and began to walk away. "I don't need you anyway…"

"Who said I was going to die?"

Fox whipped around. "That bomb was meant for YOU!"

James once again stood silent.

Fox continued, "You were supposed to take the hovercraft that night! Not her, YOU!" He slammed his fist into the wall as he finished. He attempted to look back at his dad, but struggled due to the thought of the possible future. "It's been a long time since that day… If he came up with something like that, he'll have something else in store for _you_ when you go…" Fox fought back the tears that were attempting to come out. He wasn't sure why, but he refused to show weakness to his father.

The room became still for a few moments. Then James spoke. "I won't let that stop me from avenging your mother."

Fox took a step back, feeling a sharp stab of betrayal. "Then go get your revenge. Like I said, I can fend for myself when you don't come back."

Now it was James who felt the stab due to his son's faithlessness in his father. However, he reminded himself that Fox was only feeling abandoned and alone. Guilt took over his emotions. He slowly started removing a red tactical scarf from his neck that he had always worn for protection during sand and snow storms on certain planets, including his own. "You may call me selfish, you may call me conceded, but if the day ever comes where you care for someone as I did for Vixy, you will understand." He held out the kerchief for Fox to take. "I want you to have this. It's not much, but it's something I've used my whole career as a pilot. Take it, and remember this promise: I will never abandon you."

Fox shook himself from his thoughts and he finished adjusting the shemagh. _You were right,_ Fox lightly smirked. _Cause here I am. Without a second's hesitation I left my team, my _family_, behind to chase the woman I love into the flames of hell. _He thought of his father's past visitation all those years ago, as well as his appearance today. _You also kept your promise…_

Fox re-focused on his gear. He made sure his laser pistol and its two extra power cells were securely strapped into the holster on his right-thigh, then grabbed three small bottles of pills from the metal container. The first bottle contained Potassium Iodide, a salt of stable Iodine which prevented radiation from being absorbed by certain organs in the body, which he took a sizable dose of before slipping them into an empty pouch on his vest. _It's something._ The other two bottles contained vitamin and protein pills. The state-of-the-art, 'nutrient rich' pills by no means replaced a cooked meal, but the bottles were small and weighed next to nothing; making them easy to carry on one's person. They also gave the body the energy it needed, when it needed it. Fox's stomach suddenly reminded him it had been hours since he last ate, which had been a small gourmet sandwich that he had to scarf down after receiving the distress call from Fitchina.

Fox poured four of the protein and one of the vitamin pills into his palm. _Certainly no Cojayav, spinach, and tomato with Greek yogurt and tangy, pepper sauce on flatbread; but it's something… _He downed the pills with a swig from his hydration pouch. _That should do it._ Fox thought as he dropped the pill bottles into the same pouch as the Iodide, closed up the box, and secured it back behind the seat of the cockpit. He then shut the cockpit dome, picked up his rifle, and hopped back down to the ground.

Fox scanned the area for the tallest building in sight, locating one about two kilometers from his position. Fox took one last drink from his hydration pouch, and started off on a steady paced jog into the city. If he could make his way to the top of the destined building, he would have a chance at spotting Krystal's crash site and hopefully, Krystal.

….

Time slowed for Falco as he lit up an Aparoid flying dead ahead of him. Light engulfed his face as he flew through the remaining flame, which was extinguished immediately after by the freezing temperatures of space. He loved the sight of a live battlefield. Ships exploded all around him, lasers, plasma blasts, and rockets seemed to come from every which way; soon to be followed by their initiator. There was a certain part of it all that Falco savored the most: it was utterly silent, soundless chaos.

He felt quite at home in it. In a planet's atmosphere, a person could go deaf over all the noise of destruction that conflict always seemed to court. In space, no such atmosphere existed; sound had no method of travel. Falco could hear himself think during combat, could hear the sound of his own heart beat as the adrenaline rushed through him. For him, nothing compared to it. _Not even the love of a good woman. _He snickered at the thought. Besides his occasional flirting with a planetary waitress or Star Fox female fanatic, his interest in women was next to nothing. Only one girl ever captured his attention enough to attempt a relationship with. _Katt Monroe… _

Falco had known the young, pink furred feline years prior to joining up with Fox. She was part of his rag-tag team of pilots, named the Space Hot-Rodders, which he captained himself. He was attracted to her physique right of the bat, yet that was never enough to tug at his heart strings. "Ya seen one pretty kitty, you seen em all." He'd always say. Soft, smooth fur, bright piercing eyes, curved features, sassy and provoking personalities; just about any lone pilots dream night. But in the end they were nothing but time consuming, energy draining, dramatic distractions from Falco's true passion. _The Sky Claw is my baby._ He invariably told himself. _Ain't no girl comin' between her and me..._ Then came the day Katt knocked him off his taloned feet.

The Hot-Rodder's missions varied from petty theft, to fighting Venomian forces, to the harassment of rogue military groups. Any time they felt a Cornerian squad was overstepping their privileges of power on any given planet, Falco and his gang would take it into their own hands to see that the soldiers were put back in their place. This and the petty theft gained the team poor reputation with the Cornerian government, regardless of the one certain rule the Hot-Rodders held for their thievery: only steal from facilities that could afford to lose such supplies. It was on one of these theft attempts that Falco came to find himself captivated by Katt Monroe.

Falco grinned at the thought of what she did on that mission. Another fighter lit up not far from his, casting another shadow of light over Falco's face that threw him back to that day as if he had travelled through time to get there.

The hot Rodders had successfully retrieved three small crates from what Falco originally assessed to be an isolated, run down military ammunition depot on planet Zoness; an aquatic planet with nothing more than a few small islands and Cornerian military facilities breaking the surface. The boxes they grabbed contained nearly two-hundred power cells each; for the Hot-Rodders laser blasters and rifles. Falco had assumed the depot he had chosen was cut off from the other structures built on the planet, thus making it an easy target to get in and out of with little resistance. He was correct in his observation of its disconnection with the other military platforms, however he underestimated the time it would take for reinforcements to arrive. Falco and his team had been running down an underwater Acrylic hallway when they saw the door open at the end and were greeted by nearly twenty Cornerian troops. The Hot-Rodders stopped dead in their tracks.

They had no place to take cover, and with another ten to fifteen troops not far behind, there was no going back.

"Fuck." Falco grumbled.

"What do we do boss?!" Croc, a large, beefy saltwater crocodile that acted as the team's heavy gunner, asked.

"I'm thinking!" Falco snapped. The air grew thick with tension. Falco's team had faced numbers this large before, but never in such an enclosed, coverless area.

A middle aged, well-built English Mastiff yelled out to the trapped gang. "I am the commanding officer in charge of security for this weapons facility! Drop your weapons now and put your hands behind your head, or we will use whatever tactics necessary to detain you!"

_Damn it!_ Falco cursed. _Why couldn't we have run into these guys in the storage room we just came out of?! _

"Got anything yet?!" Croc asked tauntingly.

"Of course I do!" There was a short pause, then Falco looked over at Croc. "But just out of curiosity, _you_ wouldn't happen to have thought of something, have you?

The heavy gunner let out an annoyed grunt. "We're screwed."

Falco sighed then looked back at Katt, "Sorry kid, looks like your first real mission with us is…" He stopped mid-sentence. Katt was looking up through the top of the transparent tunnel, towards the surface of the ocean. What caught Falco's tongue was the look of crazed determination in her royal blue eyes.

"There's still a way." Katt said. She looked down at her belt and pulled out two small scale smart bombs.

"What the hell are you doin?!" Falco asked nervously.

"You there! Put the grenades down NOW!" The Mastiff barked. "In fact, all of you drop your belts too! I'm giving you five seconds before we use force!"

Katt looked up at Falco. "The great, unbeatable Space Hot-Rodders ready to back down the minute they're cornered. I'm kinda' disappointed."

A subordinate Brown Lab humanoid leaned towards the commanding officer. "Sir, we should take them _now_."

"It's just a scare tactic!" The Mastiff replied. "No one's crazy enough to blow this tube, the water pressure would crush us all!"

Falco started to sweat. "Put the bombs down, you're going to kill everyone!"

Katt smiled deviously and looked over at Croc. "Hang on to those crates big guy."

Croc looked at Falco questioningly while gripping the crates hard enough to crush the metal shell they were made out of.

"Two seconds!" The officer yelled.

Katt took a breath, and time seemed to slow as she locked her undaunted eyes with those of the Mastiff's. His eyes widened, and before the last second ticked away, he realized he should've given the order earlier.

"Take them NOW!" He screamed desperately.

"KATT NO!" Falco yelled simultaneously, but before either individuals could even finish their sentence, Katt had spun a three-sixty turn and used the momentum to hurtle one grenade down each direction of the tunnel. The dogs turned and ran, and though they had stayed far enough from the intruders to clear the blast radius, the goal to clear the tunnel before the Acrylic caved was a mere fantasy. Everything happened to fast for comprehension. The next thing the Hot-Rodders could make out was that they were surrounded by a painfully heavy mass of water.

About two minutes later, Katt, Croc, and Falco were back on their carrier with Mouser: a ragged, skinny mouse who acted as the carrier's main pilot, behind the wheel. Mouser had been flying around in range of the mission site, and Katt had held up a glowing red orb as soon as she had reached the water's surface to signal him to pick them up. Falco hadn't even given either team members time to dry off before he began his harsh lecture to Katt.

"Why are your feathers so ruffled?!" Katt scoffed in defense. "I just saved all of us from twenty years in a maximum security prison!"

"You could've killed us!" Falco yelled back. "In all my life, I've never seen such careless action!"

"Scared of the grim reaper Falco?!" She snickered. "First off, I'd take death any day over time at a Cornerian criminal containment facility! Secondly, I had observed our scenario before I made the choice. We weren't any deeper than eleven, maybe twelve meters from the surface. I'll admit that it's close to, but not far enough down for the water to actually crush us; maybe a ruptured ear drum at worst. Main thing is we're free, and we got the ammo crates."

Falco jerked his burning stare over to the beefy crocodile.

Croc shuffled his feet. "Eh, two of them. The water ripped one right from my hands."

"Careless!" Falco shouted again, looking back at Katt. "Get the fuck back to your quarters while I try to decide whether or not to drop you right back into the ocean!"

Katt stepped back. Falco could tell by her expression that that one hurt. Then she glared at him, turned and walked away; muttering as she left. "You couldn't give any orders back there, when they were _needed_."

Falco attempted to roll his fighter out of the way of some incoming laser blasts, but the spray was too wide and he was unable to come out unscathed. He never admitted it, but Katt Monroe was the only one who could ever argue with him and leave him speechless in the end. Falco would always have to end their fights by sending her away so he still appeared to be the dominant victor. Truth was, he was infatuated with her. She was fearless in the face of battle; he could tell she even shared his passion for it. Katt's tactics even went as far as to scare Falco sometimes, he liked that about her. For the first time in his life, he had found a woman who wasn't 'just another pretty kitty'. She was willing and able to do what she had to in order to make her way in this world, and turn it into a joyride.

Falco turned on his attacker and pursued it through the hushed bedlam. Lucy came swooping in with a Venomian fighter on her tail, timing it just perfectly to send the two antagonists slamming into each other, creating another fiery pool that Falco blissfully flew through. Space combat felt like an adrenaline filled dance to him: The graceful flight of the fighters, the maneuvers they would execute, the fire they could send out ahead of them creating a colorful display for the attacker, and a message of defeat to the attacked; all in complete silence.

Falco's eyes followed Lucy's fighter as she searched for her next target, observing her obvious enjoyment in the career. Her talent proceeded her when she had, just moments ago, made it into firing range of the Great Fox II with Amanda at her side. Her speed and determination were nearly unmatched. _I wonder how exactly she would describe the feeling._ He pondered. _How would Katt describe it…? Damn it! Stop thinking about Katt! _That's when it hit him. _If I'm attracted to a woman who can handle and enjoy herself in battle, why haven't I ever had any thoughts about Lucy? She's an available woman, quite beautiful too. Why I am not attracted to her?_ Falco continued to dance around the battlefield until he came up with a satisfying answer. _Buck teeth._

Still, in the back of his head he knew there was a second reason. One that he might never find the answer to. _There's just something about Katt._

Slippy reported in to the team. "The Great Fox is running low on ammunition, and she's taking heavy damage!"

"The three of us just aren't enough to keep them all off of you!" Lucy said with concern. "How long until our reinforcements show?!"

A deep, unknown male voice interrupted the conversation. "Never in my life have I seen three mercenary pilots hold their own against this large a wave of fighters." The three Star Fox pilots could clearly hear the amusement dripping from his voice. "I thought for sure you'd be dead by now."

Lucy, Amanda, and Falco all looked over to see two approaching Cornerian battle ships, both twice the size of the Great Fox II itself.

"Bout time ya'll got here! Any longer and we might'a_ been_ gone!" Amanda scolded.

"Well I'm Admiral Shepherd." The voice replied. "I'm in command of these vessels you see before you, as well as all other forms of reinforcements en-route."

Amanda returned to her threateningly sweet tone. "And how, Admiral, does that help us?"

"Just you watch little lady." All of both battleship's cannons turned towards the battle zone. "Oh and, you might want to clear out." In a flash, laser and plasma beams alike spat out of the Cornerian battle cruisers faster that one could count; igniting their intended targets. The Star Fox team turned tail and darted out of harm's way. The swarm of fighters, Aparoids, Anglers, and Venomians alike, all began to scatter to avoid contact with the incoming rods of light; instantaneously turning on the two new attackers. If the Star Fox pilots could have seen the Admiral, they would've saw a tall, strapping, middle aged German Shepherd in a well decorated, military dress uniform with a hungry grin on his face. "Here they come." The shepherd growled with pleasure.

Falco watched from the outskirts as large hanger doors opened on the two battleships and Cornerian Arwings flew out to meet the coming storm. Lights continued to flash in both directions as the two masses clashed and the next round began. Falco displayed a similar grin of hunger as the Shepard, and flew in to join his allies. Adrenaline numbed his body as he came to a certain realization. _This isn't a battle anymore. _A pleasant shiver ran down his spine. _War has returned to Lylat._

…..

When Fox reached his target building he had no breath left in him; his lungs burned with the want for more air. His filtration mask cleansed the atmosphere's oxygen, but not fast enough to make it plentifully available. He took a moment to slow his breathing, using the time to perform another scan of the area for any signs of trouble. The countless bodies he had stepped over and gone around on his way had only heightened his alertness, ready for any one of them to turn out to be a living hostile. _This planet may have been burned, but today it showed us that still didn't kill it. _His anxiety had been joined with grief as he passed by all of the deceased animals. _Some of these are small enough to be younglings… _

Fox hooked his hydration pack tube back up to his mask for another drink; savoring every moment of the cold, smooth liquid traveling down his throat. Clothes already damp with sweat and blood, Fox was determined to make sure his body continued to receive the fluids it needed. Once satisfied, he secured the tube back on his vest and began looking for an entrance into his destination. Finding nothing, he resumed jogging; heading around the structure until he came across a wide flight of steel stairs leading to a grand, shattered glass panel composed entrance.

Fox slowed his pace and knelt behind a large, rectangular, stucco flower bed placed around seventeen meters south west of the stair case. Fox checked every window and opening he could see for movement. Finding nothing, he removed himself from his cover and cautiously made his approach, staying close to any form of cover in case it became needed.

As he drew closer to the main entrance, Fox turned on his rifle's flashlight and laser pointer in order to scope out the inside of the building before entering. Upon reaching the doors, he shielded himself behind a large marble pillar on the left side of the entryway. Shining his light through the shattered windows, he swept the entire right side of what appeared to be a large furnished lobby of some sort, then quickly sidestepped all the way over to the other pillar placed on the right side of the glass doors, finishing his sweep on the left side of the lobby. It appeared to be clear, but there were plenty of desks, chairs, couches and tables that someone or something could be hiding behind; including a few charred bodies that could disguise a living soldier.

Fox voiced a hushed call into the building, attempting to stir any action, but everything remained still. Time being of the essence, Fox saw no other way than to just go right in. The automatic industrial sliding doors were non-functional due the ghost city's loss of power, so he slipped through the panels in the door; making as little sound as possible in order to not alert any threats that might be in the surrounding area. Fox slid through successfully and hid behind a conveniently placed couch not far from the doors. He waited and listened. No movement. Before continuing, he took out one of his glowing orbs and threw it in the center of the lobby to light up the room.

The blue glow didn't illuminate every corner, but it made it so Fox could see everything rather than individual areas with his flashlight. Once the lobby was lit up, Fox removed himself from cover and observed his surroundings, taking in what used to be a hotel lobby. The front desk was made of polished wood; the tables suggested the same by the sight of their legs, but their tops were covered in rich linen. The tile floors were protected by a glistening sealant, the walls were made of pure pearl, and the furniture was genuine leather. A room like this was once filled with lights, people, and laughter. Conversations of business, travel, events, gossip, and pleasure used to echo throughout. Then came the corruption; Venom's sting took its toll.

Now, the place was dead. The lights had gone out, the voices had disappeared, and all color had faded from the room. The whole scene was like a flower that had been ripped from the ground and left to wilt away. Cloths were torn and burned, wood had warped and splintered, and the walls and floors were cracked from fallen debris caused by the heat and impact of the nukes. Even the grand chandelier that once hung from the ceiling had shattered into the tiled ground. Decorating it all was the corpses of the souls that had been standing in the lobby when the bombs hit; another select few Fox identified as children.

Death reclaimed its throne, and Venom became desolate once more. Fox bowed his head. _All it took was an armada of nuclear bombs, and billions of lives… _Fox thought of Krystal being stuck on this soul harvesting rock. He clenched his rifle tight in his hands, looked up and launched a forward kick into the couch he had been standing behind, sending it sliding backwards a couple meters. _Well you aren't going to take a single, other, soul! _Grabbing the orb that he dropped and securing it back in his vest so not to leave any trace of where he'd been, he slowly made his way down one of the hall ways in search of an emergency stairwell.

Fox scanned every corner and crevice he came across with his blaster rifle's flashlight for hidden threats, taking the time to stop and listen for activity every now and then. He didn't have to search long, for he found the stairs not far from the buildings gold door elevators. The stairway door had a small window in it that allowed Fox to peer through and see what was on the other side. Not spotting anything, he opened the door; which sounded a slow, eerie creek as it opened. He paused and listened once more. _Nothing._ He walked inside and glanced upwards. The stairwell was encased in darkness, even the backup lights that were supposed to come on when the power went down had burned out.

Fox shined his flashlight up towards the top of the skyward tunnel. He was reminded of the building's height when his rifle's flashlight couldn't shine all the way to the ceiling. Dust and debris particles floating in the air thickened the darkness even further. However, from what he could tell, the stairs were well intact. _Here goes nothing._ Tucking his assault rifle's butt tightly into his shoulder and keeping the barrel pointed downwards, Fox began climbing the stairs at a quick pace, but not fast enough to burn himself out midway up.

The climb only took a little over a couple minutes, but he finally reached the roof of the forty-five story structure. He stopped to catch his breath before bursting through the door that led to the outside. Fox felt as if he hadn't run in months. _Blast this filtration mask!_ He spitefully thought as he puffed. Eventually his heart rate calmed, and he shoved open the door that led to the roof. Instantly dropping down on one knee, he brought his weapon's sights to his eye and did a one-eighty scan of his view of the roof, then spun around to scan the other half of the roof behind him. Finding nothing, he lowered his rifle and did a thorough three-sixty surveillance of the roofs beyond the hotel, looking for any signs of movement. He keenly watched for around two minutes, then stood up and allowed himself to relax; dropping his rifle arm to his side. "Clear." He murmured.

Something still didn't seem right. Star Fox wrestled, and was probably still wrestling, with too many fighters up above for no activity to be on the surface. _Doesn't matter. What matters now is that I locate Krystal and get us both out of here._ He scanned the surrounding area again in search of any signs of a crash; finding one.

Smoke was fuming skyward from one spot deep in the city, about nine kilometers from his position. From the color and thickness of the smoke, Fox could tell the cause was recent. The bad news was that the entire area between him and the crash site had been turned into a debris field by the bombs. Rubble from collapsed structures and trenches, formed by 'de-roofed' subway tunnels, overlay a circular thirteen kilometer radius created by just one of the thousands of nukes that scorched every inch of Venom. Fox focused his eyes on the smoke. If it was Krystal, it was either by luck or talent that she landed where she did. The center of blast radius held a two kilometer diameter with hardly any buildings left standing; it looked like a flat land of ash and rubble. Fox only hoped she hadn't plowed into a trench, which held the potential to tear her powered down, shield-less fighter to shreds. Fox was reminded of her telepathic call that had woken him from his own crash, a call that confirmed her survival. He also remembered that she could hear calls from others, even if they didn't have telepathic abilities. Fox closed his eyes and focused. _Krystal…_ he started choking on his own thoughts. _What do I even say…? Nothing could repair the damage I've done… _He cleared his head and tried again. _Krystal… I'm…_

_Fox… _

Fox's eyes burst open. "Krystal!"

_Fox… They… they have me… _

At that moment a loud, thunderous roar rippled through the air; infecting Fox's heart with a grim, blood chilling feeling.

Once the roar had faded, Krystal spoke again. _Crash site… hurry… _


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

It took everything Fox had to keep himself from sprinting his way to Krystal. With over four and a half kilometers left to go until he reached her last known location, abusing his endurance would only slow his trek. He had to keep a steady pace to avoid stumbling to the ground and coughing up his own lungs; his snout cover tempted him to do that enough already.

Fox figured he had been running for around eleven minutes since he left the hotel, he'd be to Krystal in another twenty. He was forced to take a break when he came across one of the exposed subway tunnels uncovered by the bombs. Warped, melted, and torn up steel based material from the once solid ceiling overlay roughly the entire bottom of the trench. In spite of this, Fox was able to depict six tracks running across the tunnel floor, with a civilian platform placed between every two pairs of rails. He estimated the trench to be nearly ten meters deep, about half of a kilometer wide, and the length of it ran out of sight on both sides of him. "No going around it."

Fox looked back down at the tunnel's rugged ground. "Going across isn't going to be any fun either." He utterly dreaded that idea. His clothes were now soaked with sweat; to the point of replacing the blood that resided in them. Every muscle in his body burned and throbbed, begging to drop to the ground and rest. Fox gritted his teeth. _Stop complaining and just do it!_

Taking one more look around for hostile activity, he set his rifle down and removed a coil of non-combustible rope he had wrapped around his right shoulder and lower left side. He had found it on the roof of the hotel he was at a few kilometers back; the rope was left from a once attached swing stage scaffold. Regardless of its weight, Fox was glad he held on to it. It worked perfectly for rappelling down the side of the hotel, and now it would prove useful in getting down to the subway floor. Fox picked up his rifle, attached it to his back, and walked over to a street light near the subway tunnel. Rope in hand, he wrapped it around the light post so that the rope was divided into two even ends, which he threw over the side of the trench.

Suddenly he froze, then dove behind a nearby hovercraft, got up on one knee and peeked over the hood; scanning the area through the sights of his blaster. He wasn't sure if it was keen hearing or paranoia, but something from behind him set both his ears and his instincts off. Fox stayed there for several minutes, his eyes constantly searching the ground, windows, and roofs of his surroundings for anything sketchy. Time continued to pass, and everything remained still. Finally deciding he'd been there too long he chose to keep moving, but he kept his ears trained hard for even the smallest noise.

Re-attaching his rifle to his back, he swiftly ran to the rope, gripped it with both hands and wrapped it around his body exactly as he had at the hotel: Over his left leg, under his right leg, across his middle and chest to his left shoulder, around the back of his neck and finishing with both ends in his right hand; which acted as his break hand; Fox picked up this emergency method himself. It allowed for a smooth, controlled descent with little hindrance from his gear, as well as a free hand to fire with on the way down if need be.

Fox backed himself to the edge of the trench, and taking a moment to clear any loose debris that the line could send down after him, he began promptly bounding down the wall; reaching the bottom in seconds. Once on solid ground, Fox un-wrapped the rope from himself. Then pulling on one end, he freed the line from the pole above; simultaneously winding it up using his palm and elbow. Once done he removed his laser rifle from his back, slung the rope around his upper body same as before, and began to make his way along the metallic terrain of the subway floor.

To Fox, the term concrete jungle was starting to take a very literal sense. He ran along ground that was warped, twisted, and ragged, dodged pieces of track that stuck up left and right, stepped over the rising count of corpses not far from ash piles, dove through miniature tunnels formed from large pieces of the pre-existing ceiling, as well as maneuvered through and around severely damaged subway cars that lay all over the trench; it was towards one of these cars that Fox was headed. It had crashed itself vertically up against his destined side of the subway wall, making the perfect ladder. Clearing the rest of the obstacles, Fox arrived at the car and took a minute to catch his breath, clear the area, then pick out a safe climbing route up the car. He checked inside for the condition of the seats. A few were still intact, but most were torn from there place and tossed around cabin. "Windows it is." He looked at their condition. Each one contained multiple shattered glass shards. _Glad I always wear my tactical gloves. _Fox lifted his left hand from his blaster rifle and looked down at it with a smirk. _Fingerless as they are…_ Sliding his firearm onto his back, he cleared the first window of as much glass as possible and began to climb, clearing each anterior window of any shards as he went up. The car creaked and moaned, but it seemed to remain in place; until he reached its top.

Fox stood on the skyward end of the subway car, figuring how to clear the remaining two-meter distance of the tunnel wall from his head up. He figured he could jump about one meter, and his arm could reach about six to seven decimeters, which left another two to three decimeters for him to make. _I might make it with a running start… _He thought eagerly. _Not much room TO run though…_ That's when a loud shift of metal made its cry, and the car began to wobble beneath his feet. _Please Lylat, no!_

The steel box rocked from side to side, determining which direction to fall. _Looks like I've got no choice! _Fox prepared himself as the large steel box finally chose to tower towards the east of itself. He tensed up, then exploded into a short dash towards its northwest corner. As he placed his foot's final step onto the corner's edge, Fox put everything he had into pushing his body off of the platform and up towards the edge of the trench.

Everything slowed. He felt the blood pulse from his heart as his hand came within decimeter of its goal. It was as if he was reaching for everything that mattered in his life: victory for Lylat, success for his team, justice for his father, safety for and love from Krystal. Then shock rippled through his blood flow as Fox began to feel gravities pull; time came to a complete stop._ Everything I want, only an inch away from my fingers._ Shock became fear as motion began to resume and gravity's pull increased. _Is this it? To come so far only to die here?_ His distance from the edge began to increase. _No._

Fox swung up his other hand, stretching it far enough to cover the remaining distance and grab onto the edge. _Got it!_ He hung off the cliff as he watched the subway car topple over to the ground with a booming crash, spitting up dust in a thick, spreading cloud which settled as quick as it all fell silent. Fox listened eerily for some form of reaction. _That crash was loud enough to hear for kilometers…_ He gripped the edge with his other hand and pulled himself up enough to see the terrain ahead of him. There were fewer buildings now, mostly all rubble. He observed the layout for a few more moments. _Still nothing._ His arms not allowing him to hang there any longer, he pulled himself the rest of the way up until he found himself standing on his destined side.

_I made it._ He thought with a smile, realizing how close he came to accepting defeat. He began to feel a pinch of shame. _How can I save Krystal if I'm constantly afraid of failure…?_ He clenched his fists. _From now on I will fight for my desires to my last thought_. _I will not accept defeat. I will save her! _

Fox looked down a diminished pathway to Krystal's crash sight. Excitement rushed through him, it was four kilometers until he reached it. He took off running, rifle in hand, hardly able to keep himself from a full on sprint. He did, however, keep an ever trained eye and ear actively on the lookout. He didn't like how he was still alone.

…

'Swords of light' continued to rain from the cannons of the Cornerian battleships present on the battlefield, each blade hoping to pierce its intended target. 'Daggers' rained back from the enemy pilots, hoping to puncture any exposed vital organs on the couple steel beasts. Hardly anything could be made out anymore. Alongside the beams of light: Anglers, Aparoids, Venomians, Cornerians, and the Star Fox pilots had congregated into one area, making it difficult for both sides to distinguish who to shoot. The second wave of hostiles had also brought along surviving corrupt Cornerians from Dash's army, adding to the risk of a friendly pilot getting shot down by their own side.

Inside his battleship, Admiral Shepherd aggressively paced back in forth in front of his targeting screen, directing a knife hand at various soldiers and barking orders; fueled with fire from the stress. The same fire burned in the Star Fox team as well. They had kept to the outskirts of the firefight to help contain the situation and avoid death by confusion.

The admiral stumbled as his entire vessel shook from a trio of smart bombs that assaulted the upper hull. "I thought I ordered those mutts on artillery to not let another shot hit our ship!"

A young Beagle directly behind him answered. "They're at the top of their game sir, but the hostile Cornerians know our firing patterns; they know where to fly in order to steer clear of our cannon shots."

Shepherd grabbed the hound by his shirt collar, yanking him over and scolding him with a low and sharp growl. "If I hear you call those scum, Cornerians, one more time, Lieutenant! Get this through your canine skull: those traitors are no better than the scaled bastards that crawl out of Venom's crevices, and they shall be referred to as such!"

The Beagle's eyes grew fearfully wide. "Sir, all Venomians will be dealt with, sir!"

The admiral grinned and released his grip. "Back to your station soldier." The ship rocked again from another hit. "And _somebody_ keep those _damn_ fighters OFF OF US!"

Falco was currently being tailed by one of the Venomian dogs. The chase had gone on for several minutes and Falco still couldn't shake him. _This is embarrassing!_ He thought hotly, dodging another squad of bullets from his pursuer.

"Remind me again why we train our military so well?" Lucy voiced into the team's comm line, feeling similar frustration via constant failure to hit her target.

Amanda stayed in vicinity of the Great Fox II, attempting to protect it from incoming fire. "I don't know about _our_ military, but these Venomian pups certainly know what _they're_ doin!" She said out loud.

"I heard that missy!" Shepherd snapped.

"You may call me _miss_, Admiral." Amanda sassed. _Forgot we opened our radio channel…_

"Amanda, _please_ don't piss off the admiral." Slippy piped in.

"Baby, _please_ stay out of this. Just keep doing a wonderful job of operating the Great Fox, m'kay?"

Her threateningly cheerful tone made him change subjects. "Yeah, well she's almost out of energy! R.O.B and I don't have long till I'm gonna have to withdraw and let her cool down and recharge. Plus, she's taken a lot of hits; not to mention I only have two missiles left…"

"Bucket of bolts." Falco teased.

"She's _not_, a _bucket_, of _BOLTS_!" Slippy hollered.

"First Great Fox never had that problem."

Shepherd interrupted. "For the sake of the universe, shut the hell up! How the hell have you all survived this long?!"

"Beats me." Falco replied, finally gaining the advantage over his follower and filling the arwing with holes.

"I'm pulling back. Too dangerous to stay any longer." Slippy whimpered.

"You said other reinforcements were en-route. Any idea when that'll be, Admiral?!" Amanda jabbed.

"I can call in a couple more battleships, but if another wave shows, Corneria will initiate a last resort response."

"Another nuclear cleansing?" Falco amusedly asked.

Lucy instantly interrupted. "That can't happen! Fox is still down there!"

"WHAT?!" Falco yelled.

"It's not a nuclear cleansing. All that does is purge the surface." His voice became very grim. "Next step is an invasion."

"Fox flew down to VENOM?!" Falco yelled again.

"Invasion?" Lucy asked.

"We would go in and personally clear the planet down to its core. Something the military desperately wants to avoid." Shepherd's voice grew quiet. "Something I desperately want to avoid…"

"Would SOMEONE tell me WHAT happened to Fox?!" Falco yelled furiously.

"NOT NOW FALCO!" Lucy snapped back; Falco shut his beak with pure shock at Lucy's explosion. She spoke again to the shepherd. "Corneria has that kind of power?"

"Yes and no. The cost of it would decimate our economy, and the potential amount of lives lost would be unspeakable. We have _no idea_ what we'd find down there…"

"I certainly know the government's reason for holdin' back." Falco mocked.

"I should shoot you for your disrespect, mercenary." Shepherd growled.

"Just sayin' it like it is." Falco shrugged.

"You and Amanda are _both_ under arrest when this is over!" He barked, instantly recomposing himself afterwards. "Speaking as admiral of this fleet,_ I_ don't want to see thousands of lives lost to an invasion of that scale." The admiral fell silent, then spoke again with a determined tone. "We will hold the line. We _will_ stop this here."

"You know how many times I've heard people say that?" Falco prodded.

Shepherd looked over his shoulder. "Lieutenant?"

The Beagle spun around. "Yes sir?!"

"Shoot the bird."

…

Fox could hardly contain himself. "One kilometer, only… one kilometer! You can make… one kil… kilometer!" He huffed out. The cloud of trailing smoke that kept growing closer only made Fox run faster, pushing himself beyond his limits; he no longer cared about his lungs or legs. His heart jumped when the body of the Cloud Runner came into sight. _I'm here Krystal, can you hear me? _Seconds passed with no response. _Krystal, please tell me you're alright?!_ Only silence responded. Fox thought of her last words. '_Fox… They… they have me…_' Over half a kilometer out, he slowed himself to a walk, then stood still. '_They have me._'He repeated. "They…" Fox whispered.He dropped and rolled to a large, nearby piece of rubble; watching and listening for nearby hostiles. _How could I have been so stupid?! I was about to sprint right into a possible hotspot! _

Fox visually swept the area around him: the charred carcasses had become nothing but ash the closer he got to the center of the bomb's strike location, and there wasn't much around him to act as concealment with what Fox guessed to be around fifty buildings total that could be considered still standing in the two kilometer radius. _Any forces present have nowhere to hide… _That's what worried him. _There should be more activity here…_

His entire trek had gone unchallenged, however there was no time to clear every single edifice he came across. All he could do was rigorously sweep the area with his eyes as he ran, keeping as close to large objects as possible should they become needed. Fox began to dash his way to each available cover ahead of him, cautiously growing closer to her fighter. With few building corners to hide behind, demolished hover crafts and large steel based debris were his main guardians. He had just begun to run from a piece of debris to one of the surviving structures when a strong sense of peril came over him. _Something's not right!_

A split second whistle followed by a sharp sting in the back of his neck confirmed his feeling. Fox hurled himself into the side of a nearby street barricade and quickly pulled a short, thin object from where he felt the hit, bringing it into his eyesight. _A dart!_ Suddenly he was overcome with dizziness. He knew what happened, he had just been tranquilized.

Fox realized there was only one way he had a chance at staying conscious and had less than five seconds to act on it; he needed ten. _Let's buy myself some time!_ Without hesitation, Fox's right hand pulled his tactical knife from his vest, raised it up, and brought it down into the center of his right foot. He yowled at the pain but kept himself focused; using the time his sensory nerves gave him to dig into his medical pack and pull out an adrenaline shot. Fox quickly threw the rope off his body and unzipped his vest, coat, and sleeveless combat shirt; then he removed the adrenaline shot barrel's safety cover, located on the needle end, and aimed the shot at the left side of his fuzzy chest.

With a quick prayer to the powers above him, he shoved it into his skin, felt the needle extend out of the barrel, pierce through his skin, between his ribs and straight into his heart. He gasped at the brief, crushing sensation his heart emitted, but immediately felt his head clear up as the injected fluid spread through his body. He conquered the final sting as the needle retracted, then he tossed it and took a moment to regain control. He was panting heavily, feeling his blood rush through his entire being; his heart racing to keep it going. Fox's head flipped through a countless amount of thoughts per second, but stopped when it came to a certain one. _Who shot me?!_

Fox went to remove the blade from his foot but stopped just as quick; cursing himself at realizing what he had done. _The second you pull that out, you're going to bleed out! You fucking idiot! _Fox thought through his options, coming to one conclusion. _You're gonna have to sear it shut… Damn it Fox! _Fox pulled his hand blaster from its holster and aimed it where the blade pierced through his boot; grasping the handle of the blade with his left hand. _Three… two… one. _

Fox ripped the blade from his foot and growled in pain; briefly losing focus. Quickly forcing himself to regain control, he put the barrel of his laser pistol to the slit in his boot and fired a shot. Fox underwent the same amount of pain he felt upon stabbing himself; falling to his side as he dropped the blaster and grasped his foot. His entire body pulsed as the adrenaline helped him fight the pain. _Get up Fox! _He scolded himself, _your attacker is waiting! _

Still growling from the pain, Fox sat up and retrieved his hand blaster and his knife; returning them to their individual holsters and zipping up his garments. Fox looked at his rifle as it lay on the ground; the sight created a vengeance in him. Picking it up, Fox lay flat on the ground, crawled to the edge of the barricade that was his shelter, and peeked around it; taking in a mental overview of the area the shot came from. He left his head out only for a moment before withdrawing it, hoping to avoid a second shot, but what he saw forcefully drew him to take a second look. Standing openly on the roof of a five story building, under half a kilometer from him, was a tall, black, burly figure with what Fox assumed to be a sniper rifle resting in his hands. Two large, red eye-ports seemed to burn profusely from his mask. The beast stood perfectly still, clearly unafraid of being spotted.

Neither animal moved; both stayed where they were, focused on each other with an unbreakable glare. Fox decided to speak, shouting loud enough to be heard.

"I don't know who you are, or why you attempted to sedate me; I think your goal isn't to kill. I also think that either you, or others that you're associated with, are the ones who took who I'm looking for from the fighter ahead of me. I'd rather work something out, but know this: I will do whatever I have to, to get her back. This is your warning."

The beast remained still, holding the expressionless stare that his mask gave. Fox watched as the being's shoulders began to pulsate, hearing the slight sound of menacing laughter echo through the air. The creature then tensed up, and followed up his laugh with a sudden bone chilling roar; the same roar that Fox heard on the hotel roof eight kilometers back. The sound was nearly deafening. Fox's brain burned from the mix of noise and adrenaline. Once refocused on the weighty figure, Fox ducked behind his cover at the sight of the beast raising his rifle to take aim. A shot fired off and Fox could hear the blast burn into the barrier and dissipate somewhere deep inside. _Guess I have your answer. I gotta move! _

Fox looked towards a severely contorted entrance near the building which the beast stood upon. _He doesn't want to kill me, but another tranq' and it's over…_ Fox reached toward the left side of his belt to retrieve his Reflector, a small, metal hexagon with a glowing blue sphere at its center that could generate a shield able to deflect any mid to long distance projectile, but found it to be missing. …_Damn it! I gave it to Slippy for maintenance after it started shorting out on me… _Fox fought panic by trying to come up with a different solution. _Okay… _He secured his rifle to his back, pulled out one of the two flash grenades his vest carried, and shot up a prayer. _Plan B… Go!_

Fox burst from his shelter in a mad dash toward his destination, counting to two as he ran. Once two was reached, he pulled the pin from the first flash grenade and sent it straight up in the air. It went off with an ear-splitting bang. After four more seconds past, Fox threw up the second; preparing his ears for another painful round of ringing. Once dispensed, he gave it everything he had to make the final thirty meters. He counted another four seconds, then leapt into a role towards his hunter; just missing a third shot. Fox could tell it was another dart due to the quiet, high pitched whistle that trailed behind it. He got back to his feet and kept running towards the door. _Three meters, dive!_ Fox dove into the door; smashing through some remaining, warped glass and rolling to his feet; paying no attention to the thousands of shards that spread across the floor. He grabbed his rifle off his back and observed his surroundings. The room in which he stood was so deformed he couldn't discern what it had been before; he ceased trying and searched out a way to the roof. He found a set of stairs with just enough skeletal remains to, at the very least, make it to the second floor. He began his ascent, keeping his eyes, ears, and rifle trained for his attacker.

The stairs took him to the third floor, with little as a gap or two to be hopped over, until it cut off from the nuclear damage. Fox searched out another way, spotting an emergency ladder clinging to the building's exterior right outside the floor's windows. After checking the roofs above for the predator in waiting, Fox tested the ladder by yanking on it with all his might. Receiving little more than mere wobbling, Fox slid his rifle onto his back and began his climb to the fourth, then fifth floor. Within arm's reach of one of the fifth floor windows, the top end of the ladder abruptly gave and peeled loose from the building; leaving Fox hanging in mid-air. _Damn it!_ Looking up, Fox saw the beast peek over the roofs edge and take aim. Simultaneously, Fox went for his pistol with his right hand and began desperately firing off suppressing shots. Fox emerged victorious, not sure whether to thank his quick draw or hesitation from the beast. Either way, the being disappeared back onto the roof.

Fox re-sheathed his pistol and quickly began to sway himself from side to side in order to gain enough momentum to make it to the windows above. Bringing his right hand to the left side of the ladder, he timed the removal of his left hand, swung up towards the window, and propelled his left hand forward to grasp the sill. His palms met the structure and he quickly pulled himself back into the building. Once standing, he scanned the fifth floor for his enemy. He heard footsteps on the roof. _He's waiting for me._ Fox knew it was suicide to attempt to go up to him. _Guess I'll have to bring him to me! _Fox stepped out of the room into a nearby hallway. Once there he pulled a smart bomb from his vest. _Time to raise the roof. _He thought with a short smile, tossing the bomb in his hand like a baseball_. And what goes up must come- _

Without warning, five blasts simultaneously sounded off and the entire ceiling appeared to crumble. Fox fell to the floor as his entire body went numb from the rubble that buried most his body. He began to cough from the oxygen that had been forced from his lungs, gasping to get it back. _What… what the… what ha… happened… _Fox opened his eyes and tried to revive himself from the unfeeling blackness his conscious side was attempting to slip into. He vision was blurred, but he had no issue seeing the black figure walking down a large mound of debris towards where he lay.

Fear sparked in his heart again. _Who... who are you…? _The creature drew closer. _What do you… you want?_ The beast stopped and observed him from a one-meter distance. _What… did you do with… Krystal?_ His spark ignited into a furnace of rage. _You… you know where she is!_ Fox looked the being in his mask's demonic red eyes. _You are going to tell me… where, she. is!_ The remaining adrenaline kicked back in. Fox was filled with energy and began working his way to his feet, feeling his numbness reveal the pain it hid from the debris that had assaulted his body. Fox ignored it, but found the rubble heavier that he expected when his second attempt failed. He looked up at the beast, it hadn't moved. It just stood there; continuously watching.

_That's it!_ Fox shoved his arms and chest forward and forcefully sprung himself to his feet, using the momentum to toss himself into the predator, striving to tackle him to the ground. Fox succeeded in sliding the beast back a couple meters, but the creature found his traction and brought the two to a halt with his might, shoving Fox off of him then landing a wood-splitting forward kick right into his abdomen. Fox curled over and fell to his knees, fighting to keep the contents of his stomach inside his body, fighting for air he could never seem to retain, fighting to stay conscious for Krystal's sake.

No further blows came. The creature had merely tossed its sniper off to the side, and once again stood still and observant; the scarlet red eyes burning into Fox's very soul. Once Fox had found his breath again, he struggled to his feet and met his opponent face to face. The beast still didn't stir.

Fox furrowed his brow, speaking through gritted teeth. "Where is she?!"

"Safe." The beast responded in a deep, bass filled growl. The second after speaking, he threw a right hook towards Fox's face. Fox managed to duck under the strike, but was met afterwards with a knee to his jaw that flowed into a side kick to the chest. Fox fell to his back, knocked rearward to where he had started. He quickly forced himself up and assumed a fighting stance; anger suppressing his body's agony. _This guy's fast!_ Fox had picked up a few fighting techniques throughout his life that served him well in bar fights and disputes with Falco, but as a pilot he was rarely ever fighting battles involving hand to hand combat. His opponent on the other hand, knew exactly what he was doing. _Never stopped me before!_

The beast began walking towards where Fox stood.

Fox spoke again. "You're going to tell me where she is!"

The creature started to chuckle as he walked. "I'll do better than that, young Fox."

As the distance closed, Fox saw an opportunity and feigned a left punch at his opponents face, then threw a charged strike at his stomach with his right fist.

The creature caught both attacks with his hands. "I'm going to bring you to her." The predator retaliated by thrusting his forehead into the top of Fox's snout, right between his eyes. Fox staggered away and the being, who followed up by charging into Fox and smashing him up against a corridor wall; with a force comparable to the debris that had buried him. Fox found himself once more on his knees only to be thrown further down the hallway via a powerful kick to his left cheek. He landed on his side and slid to a halt, feeling the sensation of blood trickling from his nose and his mouth inside his mask; he already felt completely broken. _Gotta… keep… fighting…_ Fox rolled onto his front and started to push himself up with his forearms, collapsing back to the ground as he found no strength to take from. _Come on! Get up!_ He tried again, slowly gaining success. He could hear the footsteps of his coming adversary. _Not this time! _

Fox waited until the footsteps drew closer, then he pushed himself backwards into a rear kick, landing it right into the beasts face. Fox's desperation gave the kick strength, and he didn't give his enemy any time to reciprocate. Standing back up, he drove a right punch straight into the creature's abdomen, and brought his left knee up into the creature's face as it curled over. Fox's opponent stumbled back, and Fox went to deliver a low round house kick to his left side. The beast caught it and went to drive his elbow into the leg's knee for a finishing blow. Fox loosened his muscles and rotated himself towards the ground so the pit of his knee received the brunt of the force. Shaking his leg free, Fox swept his other leg into his adversary's ankles, sending him crashing to the floor.

Both animals got to their feet and went at each other again. Fox slowly began to adapt to the creatures fighting style, but it allowed him little more than landing a few more hits throughout the skirmish. Most of his attacks where countered by bone numbing blows from his opponent's different limbs. Another elbow to Fox's middle, followed by an uppercut to his chin landed him back on the ground. Blood was now oozing out his mask, joined bleeding from cuts on nearly every part of his face; his entire body burned with soreness from countless bruises. Fox began mouthing his thoughts. _Gotta… keep… fighting…_

"You're beginning to disappoint me, McCloud." The predator growled, towering over him with a sense of power that Fox was failing to overcome.

"I… I won't… let you take her!" Fox coughed out. He forced himself to sit up, roll onto his feet, and launch another punch at the beast's abdomen. His adversary caught the fatigued attack, pulled him in by it and thrust a fist straight into Fox's stomach.

That did it, Fox couldn't hold it back any longer. He released a violent, uncontrolled flow of vomit into his mask. His coughing worsened and he began to choke on his barf. Unexpectedly, he felt the mask fall from his face, to which the blood infused vomit followed suit. _He undid the securing strap!_ The creature released him and Fox collapsed to the ground, his face splashing in the puddle of puke and blood. He coughed up the remaining glop that rested in his throat and began to dry heave, not giving any further thought to the heavily toxic air he was now breathing. The burn in his lungs from the nuclear exposure and the smell of vomit that filled his nostrils were nothing compared to what his body was undergoing.

"You should thank me for that." His adversary scoffed.

"Right… _(Cough)_ after… _(Cough)_ I _kill_… _(Cough)_ _you_!" Fox spat back. He could feel his rage boiling inside him again. Strength gloriously found him, and he began to work his way to his feet, ignoring the blood and vomit that dripped off of him.

"Enough." The beast stated loudly. As Fox stood up and refaced his opponent, he felt five blades pierce into his chest as he was shoved up against another wall. He looked down to see the creature's left hand as the culprit, and the blades were claws. Fox cried out in torment as the predator slid him up the wall, driving his talons deeper into Fox's skin. Fox went to draw his knife but was stopped by the beast's free hand.

Fox saw an opportunity and mustered a grin in spite of the sharp sting in his chest. "Kitty made a bad move." With both of the beast's hands occupied, Fox drew his laser pistol and shot the cat twice in the upper left leg. The burly feline yowled in pain, releasing Fox and falling to the knee of the injured leg; grasping it with both hands.

Fox landed on the floor and staggered sideways until he found his balance; grasping his own chest while aiming his pistol right at the creature's head. "Now, you're going…" Fox erupted into a fit of mad coughing, however he pulled himself together and resumed his order. "You're going to tell… tell me what you've done with Krystal." Fox took another shot at the cat's shoulder, to which the hunter shrieked and fell over on his side. "Or I'll just keep shooting you in… _(Cough)_ non-lethal areas until… your entire body is cooked from the heat. Take… _(Cough)_ your pick."

The beast uttered what sounded like a laugh/growl hybrid. "Never before has an opponent found a way to evade my sniper shots, refrained from going under from a tranquilizer dart, and outsmarted me in a sparring match; all in one battle! I must say, McCloud, you are truly a worthy opponent. I look forward to adding your mark to my Angel."

_My Angel?_ Fox pondered. "I could tell… tell from the start… _(Cough)_ you aren't a good listener." he fired off another searing round into the cat's foot.

The creature hissed.

"Tell me where she is!" Fox was yelling now, his urge to cough dissipated.

"I told you, young Fox, I will take you to her."

"I get the feeling your travelling conditions aren't very accommodating."

"You speak as if you have a choice. You think you've won this fight?" The burly feline released another menacing chuckle.

Fox's nerves stood on end, he knew that didn't mean anything good. He aimed and fired into the hunter's shin. "WHERE IS KRYSTAL?!" He screamed.

The cat hardly flinched at the assault. "Worry not, you'll be meeting her in moments."

Fox became furious and prepared to take another shot, when all of a sudden his chest burned and his entire body became weak. His head spun, his stomach twisted, and his hands began to shake. The vibrating increased until he could no longer hold onto the hand blaster.

The cat stood up with little effort and watched the ailing Fox, seemingly unaffected by the five holes singed into his frame. "Good night, young Fox."

Fox shook his head; he could've sworn that was Krystal's voice. "What in… what did… what have you done to me?!" He began stumbling around, reaching out for support but falling right through whatever object he thought was there; his nauseous state was causing him to hallucinate. He had landed in a crumpled up position. Laughter and screams from Krystal, his parents, and his team filled his ears. "Peppy?! Lucy?! KRYSTAL?! Where… where are you?! Please… let me… no… no it's, it's not real!" The room went up in a turbulent flame, and the building began to crumble all around him. Through it all, Fox noticed the tall dark figure still standing over him, the masks blood red eyes now blazing with fire. The beast raised up what Fox fearfully perceived to be a large axe, and the last thing he saw was it coming down on his head. Before giving in to darkness, Krystal's voice echoed in his ears: "Sweet dreams."

…..

The lion watched with pleasure as the fox dropped his pistol and began to tremble fiercely. The wounds the lion sustained no longer phased him; he had completely shut them out. He rose to his feet and spoke to his opponent. "Good night Fox."

The fox shook his head. "What in… what did… what have you done to me?!"

The lion turned away and walked to where he had thrown his sniper rifle, hearing the sound of the fox fall to the floor with an ungraceful thud. The lion smiled, looking down at his claws that shined from their coating. "None survive the prick of the toxin."

He refocused when he heard the fox cry out a string of strange words. "Peppy?! Lucy?! KRYSTAL?!

_Krystal._ The lion grinned, ignoring the rest of the fox's sentence as he retrieved the rifle from its resting place. "The time is coming McCloud. You will see her, and her _true_ captor, soon enough."

He walked back over to the quivering fox, who now lay in a pitiable ball on the floor. His terror stricken eyes looked up at the lion once he had approached.

The lion took a final look at the fox, then raised the butt of his rifle up, and brought it down on the head of his prey. The fox lay unconscious, and the lion uttered two final words: "Sweet dreams."


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"I've seen desperate, but this is madness." Shepherd growled as he stared at his targeting map with his fists clenched.

Lucy and Amanda flew around one of the Cornerian battle ships in pursuit of three Venomians; two of them dog pilots. "Varmints won't take a hint!" Amanda stated.

"They should've retreated twenty minutes ago; they're nearing total extermination."

"And this is upsetting you, how?" Lucy asked. _Aren't we winning?_

"They're fighting for nothing at this point. Another word for it would be suicide."

"Good." Falco snickered, diving down towards an unsuspecting Aparoid. "I don't object to wiping every one of their sorry asses from existence." He ended his sentence right as his laser blasts burned through his target, triggering its explosion.

_I'm going to enjoy putting that bird in a cage. _Shepherd thought. "Why would they stay if they knew that defeat was inevitable?"

"Of all people, Admiral, I thought you would know the meaning of the phrase, 'fight till the last breath.'" Amanda said, successfully destroying two of the three fighters Lucy and her were pursuing.

Shepherd shook his head. "This attack was too coordinated. They drew us out by attacking our patrol convoy, held us back with a brigade hidden along our avenue of approach, and once we finally arrived, they had an entire division ready for us; of which they filled with the surviving traitors who would know our tactics."

"Your point being?" Lucy asked, taking out the survivor of the trio.

"This is still part of their plan." Shepherd said with apprehension. "They're holding out for time."

"To do what?" Falco asked annoyed.

Shepherd took a tense pause. "I don't know."

"Ya know, I don't get you. Not long ago you were in a panic because you weren't sure if we could hold them off. Congratulations, you are about to sweep up the crumbs of that armada; and now you're telling us that you're scared because they ain't runnin?! And another thing that's botherin' me: Where, the _fuck_, IS _FOX_?!"

Lucy exhaled in frustration. "He's on VENOM!"

_Bitch, I know that!_ Falco screamed in his head as he descended onto another helpless hostile, lighting it up and sending it out in flames. "WHY?! HOW?! There's more to that freaking story!"

"He went after Krystal!"

"She's down there _too_?! How in the fuck did all this happen?!"

Amanda furiously interrupted the conversation. "You drop that bomb one more time Falco, and I'm going to _clamp_ your _beak_ on your _tongue_!"

Falco yelled as loud as he could inside his cockpit, slammed his fists on his control panel, then came to a complete stop; deeply and rapidly breathing in and out. "You know what?! I don't even care! He'd just better get his fu-"

"FALCO!" Amanda sternly hollered.

"Fine! _Furry_ tail up here before I hunt it down and tear it off!"

"SHUT, UP!" Shepherd barked. Everyone fell silent. "I don't know the situation with your leader either, but there's nothing we can do for him! He might be dead anyway!" Shepherd stopped himself, took a slow and prolonged breath, then began again. "I'm sorry for your loss, but right now we need to stay focused or else we're gonna wind up dead."

"What? From the minus thirty pilots we have left to handle?" Falco jabbed, locking on to a group of four Venomians and one Angler.

Shepherd turned to ignoring Falco's wise cracks. "I'm calling in the extra battleships to remain prepared for the worst. Let's hope whatever time these 'suicidal survivors' need is longer than what it takes for our reinforcements to arrive."

Falco commented on how he remembered when Admiral Shepherd was considered the reinforcements, which Shepherd once again ignored. Amanda called in to Slippy to ask how the weapons recharge and internal repairs were coming, as well as make sure her husband was alright.

"R.O.B.'s a fast worker, were coming along fine. Weapons are at fifty percent but it's still going to be a bit till we're fully mission capable." Slippy answered.

"ETA FORTY-FIVE MINUTES UNTIL URGENT REPAIRS ARE COMPLETE. BE ADVISED, ONLY TWO MISSILES ON STANDBYE. SUGGEST LASER CANNON AS MAIN METHOD OF ATTACK."

"That too. And I'm still rockin', my lovely water lily." Slippy blushed.

Meanwhile, Lucy had all but faded from the conversation. Her brain repetitively mused over Shepherd's input on Fox's fate. _'He might be dead anyway!'…_ She pulled her fighter away from the conflict and took a quick flight over planet Venom, gazing down into its misty atmosphere as she passed, searching for someone she feared may not return. _Please be alright Fox._ She quietly pleaded. _Please… come back to us._

…..

_Krystal… where… where am I?_ Fox slowly awoke to find himself in darkness. He had to blink a few times to make sure his eyes where open. _I'd better not be blind!_ He tried to move but found his arms and legs to be strapped to something. He focused on his body's current posture and realized he was sitting in some sort of chair made of a cool, solid material. Fox began to jerk his arms and legs in various directs as violently as possible in hopes to break or slip free of his binds. After about ten seconds of no results he forced himself to stop. _All right Fox, let's not panic here… let's just sit and listen._ After a moment of silence, he heard the quiet, placid inhale, and the powerful, vociferous exhale of something breathing directly behind him. Fox knew what it was the instant it spoke.

"You might want to shut your eyes." The beast said.

Immediately after the warning was given, Fox was blinded by a bright, white light that lit up the room he was in. He regretted his curiosity's inability to listen as he painfully clamped his eyelids shut as tight as possible. What made it worse was that the room was made of a pure white material which only intensified the light's glare. After a long, painful adjust, Fox could finally open his eyes and make out the features of the room: there were none. No windows, no desks, no tables, and no chairs; other than the one Fox was bound to by metal cuffs. The burly feline spoke again as he circled around into Fox's view.

"You passed out from a hallucinogenic sedative that I keep freshly coated on my claws. The toxin was derived from a plant that naturally produces the sedative as a gas; a plant that can only be found on a flourishing Venom." The beast chuckled. "Since your government has destroyed everything here, I am the only one in possession of this toxin. I'm glad I grabbed what I did, when I did."

"Where is Krystal?!" Fox interjected.

"On her way." The cat calmly answered.

"How long till I see her?!"

"Soon McCloud, very soon."

"I'm fed up with that answer!"

The creature stood still, then reached up and removed his own mask, revealing the face of a lion with a well-groomed mane kept in a pony-tail. Three distinct, parallel scars traced the left side of his face from his upper temple, across his eye socket, and to the end of his snout. His eyes were a sky blue color that rivaled the blood red eyes of his mask. He leaned forward until his broad, chiseled, weathered face was a couple centimeters away from Fox's, and spoke with a humorless countenance. "I, don't, care."

Fox returned the glare with his own; not a muscle on either competitor twitched. The two continued to silently hold their ground, until the lion stood straight again.

"You really are an animal worthy of respect. Tell me, young Fox, the fact that I'm a feline doesn't surprise you. You called me 'kitty' when I had you up against the wall during our skirmish. How did you know?"

Fox remained silent as his eyes stayed locked on his questioner.

The lion offered a grunt of disapproval. "One has to give respect to get it. I only show my face to those who have pleased me during the hunt; who have satisfied my longing for a challenge. You aren't the best at weaponless combat, however your fighting spirit kept you going longer than I had expected." The beast paused, looking for a reaction from Fox. Finding nothing, he continued. "And you outsmarted me; it was too late, but you outsmarted me none the less. Let's not forget your quick thinking to counteract my tranquilizing attempt. Of all I have sedated, few have showed the will to do what was necessary to survive; you are one of them." The creature paused again, searching for any change of expression from his audience, but Fox still maintained his stone stare. "Lastly, I admire your timing and use of resources in order to dodge my further sniper fire. You have earned your place on my Angel."

Curiosity flashed across Fox's face. _There it is again, 'my Angel'. What is it with you cats and referring to things romantically? Who or what are_ you_ referring too? _

The cat noted Fox's grain of interest. "Now McCloud, I have treated you with respect. It would be wise of you to do the same."

Fox stayed silent a moment longer, then released a breath of surrender through his nostrils. "Educated guess. The structure of your mask, your claws and their length, the power and speed with which you strike; what doesn't make sense is your missing tail."

The right portion of the feline's mouth curved into a smile. "A sacrifice one must make to rid himself of a disadvantage in combat."

Fox cringed inside. "No loss of balance?"

"One learns to work without it."

"What is the point of this?"

"The point of what, young Fox?"

"This information session. You've shared more than you've asked of me. What are you gaining from this?"

The beast's smile grew. "Nothing. This is merely how I show my respect to prey who are worthy." The beast circled back around till he was out of Fox's view. "You should count yourself lucky I had orders to bring you in alive." He leaned in close to Fox's left ear and spoke in a frosty whisper. "Most of my quarry are _dying_ when I do this."

A quick shiver ran down Fox's spine. He felt the lion slowly step away from him. "Then you'll answer me one more question. Who or what is your 'Angel'?"

The room instantly grew quiet. "That is something only I will ever know. Her identity belongs to me, and me alone." With that the once blinding lights disappeared and total darkness returned. "My time is up"

Fox heard a door behind him electronically slide open.

The burly feline spoke again. "It's their turn to speak with you."

_'Their'? _Fox mentally asked as his heart rate began to rise.

Once the predator's voice dissipated, Fox heard something being steadily wheeled around to the front of him, as well as a pair of footsteps that leisurely followed it. The floor sounded off each eerie step of the walker as well as the set of wheels that rolled along the ground. Both the object and its driver came to a halt about two meters from the anterior side of Fox, who could hear his own heart race over the suspenseful, agonizing silence.

Suddenly the lights returned and Fox found himself face to face with the one he'd been searching for.

"Krystal…"

The sight of her condition broke Fox's heart. She was in a wheel chair with her right arm strapped to the arm rest and the left arm strapped straight down the side of the chair; she was barely conscious. Her face sustained minor cuts and bruises and her sleeveless, purple and pink colored bodysuit displayed a handful of tears along the upper body portion along with her white, forearm length, fingerless gloves. Her white boots, belt, and grey plated shoulder straps contained scratches and scuffs. Fox felt relief that she didn't appear any worse, but his mind gave birth to confusion, and his heart to wrath, when he laid eyes on the one who stood behind her; so much so that his mouth couldn't vocalize a single word.

Dash Bowman gave a vile grin at Fox's outraged silence. "Hello Mr. McCloud. Your biggest fan has missed you."

Words still failed to form. Fox's entire being shouted that Dash should be dead, but all these years something inside of him already knew the possibility of the latter. He looked back at Krystal and asked the only thing he could at the time.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER?!" He shouted, looking back at Dash.

"Hush, hush, Mr. McCloud! That's no way to wake the lady. She needs to be slowly and peacefully aroused from her slumber." Bowman leaned down and put his mouth next to Krystal's left ear, reaching around and lifting her chin with his right hand.

Fox lunged forward in his chair. "No, no don't you touch her! DON'T YOU TOUCH HER!"

Dash looked past Fox and nodded. Suddenly Fox was gagged with a piece of cloth. The more he fought it, the tighter it got.

Dash's villainous smile grew even larger. "That's better." He repositioned his mouth near Krystal's ear and whispered, "Krystal dear, rise and shine. A guest has come to see you."

Krystal's eyes fluttered open as she struggled to fix them on what was ahead of her. "F...Fox…?"

Dash released her chin which dropped back down towards her chest. "Worry not Fox, we didn't harm her. It was actually quite the opposite; I lost one of my men because of her. She's become capable of something rather… horrific! It's why we finally had to sedate her."

Fox glanced at Krystal and smiled a little inside at the thought of her retaliation, but his mind cogitated on what she did that Dash considered horrific.

"No matter! Time is _very _short. Fortunately, all the cards have fallen into place as planned; you, and this lovely vixen, are right where you should be." Dash said as he stroked the right side of Krystal's face with his tail. Krystal's head shot up and snapped at it with her mouth. Bowman pulled it away right in the nick of time, jumping back towards the wall to Krystal's right side. "Ha, haha! See what I mean, Mr. McCloud?! She's a feisty one!"

Krystal focused on Dash, every muscle in her face voiced nothing but a wish of death for the primate. "Why don't you start pounding your head on the floor until your brains spill out the front of your _skull_!"

Bowman's smile slowly faded as he closed his eyes and scrunched up his brow. He brought his hand to his temple as his forehead began to sweat. The side of his mouth began to quiver as if he were struggling. "You… you are… _very_ powerful… indeed."

Fox wasn't sure of what he was witnessing. Krystal's murderous eyes remained locked onto Dash, who seemed to be headed towards a mental breakdown.

Dash's legs began to shake, but then he threw himself back against the wall to Krystal's right side; as if he had torn himself from an invisible tormentor. He opened his eyes and seemed at peace again; his menacing grin reclaimed its grounds. "But so am I." Dash came off the wall, walked over to her and leaned back down, keeping just enough distance in case she decided to snap at him again. "We have even further plans for you when this is all over." He maliciously whispered, facing her teeth grit glare without fear.

Fox couldn't take it anymore, he thrust forward in his chair again and forced his next statement out as best he could through his gag cloth. "LEAVE HER ALONE!"

Dash looked over at Fox. "Oh that's right! You're here too!" Dash looked past Fox, nodded again, and the gag was removed.

"How did you survive?!" Fox hollered.

Bowman dashed over to Fox's chair and slammed his hands onto Fox's forearms, grasping them tightly with a look of wicked merriment two centimeters away from Fox's face. "There's so much I want to tell you! My survival story, the years of building and formulating, the glorious foretelling of your arrival and what you're going to do!" He violently poked Fox's forehead. "But alas, time IS short. Your _team_ and the _two_ battleships that arrived to help have done a _wonderful_ job at depleting my soldiers faster than I had expected…" He said loathingly.

_Reinforcements must have showed._ Fox thought cheerfully at the word of Star Fox being alright, yet he feared Dash's last statement. "Faster than expected?" Fox reiterated.

Dash's sinister smile was joined by a dark, solemn tone. "Everything that has happened, and everything that is happening, is to plan. Venom will rise." Dash backed away from Fox and stood up straight again. "And you're going to help us."

The demand sent memories of every painful thing that Andross, Oikonny, and Dash had ever put him through rushing through Fox. Every person that had been taken from him: his mother, his father, the trillions of innocent lives; they all came back in an instant. Fox flexed his expression into one of pure hatred aimed at Bowman. "Never."

Bowman responded with a loud clap. "I knew you'd say that!" He said cheerfully, and without giving Fox as much time as to have a second thought, he spun around and threw right, non-withholding fist into the left side of Krystal's snout. Krystal's body leaned over the right side of her wheel chair, stunned by the shock and power of the blow.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Fox screamed.

"Want to rethink your decision, Fox?!" Dash proudly asked.

Fox didn't even hear Bowman as he looked over at Krystal, who now had blood dripping from her mouth. "Krystal?! Krystal, look at me, look at me!"

"WELL FOX?!"

Fox threw himself back at Dash. "DON'T LAY ANOTHER HAND ON HER!"

"Fine then!" Dash's right hand pulled out a knife he had strapped to the side of the belt he wore with his green dress uniform and slashed upward along the ground ward side of Krystal's face, awakening her from her dazed state. Blood oozed from the wound as she sat up and cried out in suffering. Dash started to whirl himself around her wheel chair. "See? Hands free!"

Tears jerked at Fox's eyes now as he fought his restraints in any way he could. "YOU FUCKING BASTARD! JUST LEAVE HER OUT OF THIS!"

Bowman stopped spinning and placed his left hand on Krystal's left shoulder. "Then do what I ask!" He raised the blade above Krystal's right shoulder. "And her suffering will end!"

Fox's heart stopped. "ALRIGHT!"

Dash ceased right as he was about to send the dagger down into her flesh, looking at Fox out of the corner of his eye. The room hung in complete silence until Fox found his voice again.

"I'll help you… I'll help you do whatever you want…" Fox hung his head in surrender, staring at the drops of Krystal's blood that now stained the pure white floor. "Just don't hurt her anymore."

The silence returned; not a sound was made, not a word was said. Finally, Dash slowly brought the blade back to his side. "You will go to Katina and retrieve a case of unique, valuable equipment for me. What the case contains is my final step in obtaining what my ancestors have fought for their entire lives. In eight hours, Lylat is mine."

_Katina?! How in Lylat does he expect me to take something from there?! _Head still hung, Fox breathed a sigh of submission and closed his eyes. _It doesn't matter… anything to keep him from beating on her. _"What equipment?" Fox asked.

"You don't need to know."

Fox looked up at him. "Then how do I find it?"

"I have someone already there in waiting. He will guide you to it."

"How do I find _him_?!"

"He will find you."

"Why couldn't he have stolen it for you?"

"I wanted someone more skillful."

"Then how about your bounty hunter? You couldn't trust him to take care of this for you?!"

"They know you, trust _you_. I have a different purpose more suitable for him."

"And what makes you think that _I'm_ going to succeed?"

"Her." Bowman glanced back at Krystal. "If we fail, and Corneria invades, they will kill _everyone_." Dash walked over to and brought himself eye to eye with Fox, wearing a malicious grin. "I promise you, I will make sure that _she_ is a part of _everyone_."

Fox fearfully stared back at Dash. "Please… don't make her pay for my failure." He begged.

"I won't have to if you succeed."

Fox thrust forward again, causing Bowman to step back. "I can't guarantee that! _Please!_ Don't put her life in my hands like-" Fox stopped. _Her life in my hands… just like before… when she was on my team… I couldn't accept responsibility for her life… _Fox looked at Krystal, who returned his gaze with the same expression she had the night he left her: Fear, loss, insecurity, crestfallen; all of it was reappearing right before him. Then there were two others he noticed as she looked away from him: anger and shame. _You too are living it all over again, only this time you're seeing me for the monster I really am._ Fox's face switched from that of shock to one of genuine dedication. _It's time for a change._

"Listen to me Krystal." Fox started off sternly. "I'm going to get you out of here. One way or another, I will save you." Krystal looked back over at Fox; hesitance hung in her eyes. After a couple seconds, Fox saw trust enter her gaze as she gave him a small nod. The hurt and anger of betrayal were still there, she hadn't forgiven him, but it warmed his heart to see she at least believed him.

Bowman interrupted. "Funny, that brings me to my ending point." He turned and walked behind Krystal, gently setting his knife in her lap with a soft pat as he passed. "One way or another…" Dash walked back around to Krystal's left side, whose expression was growing nervous; her troubled gaze drifting from the dagger laying on her legs, towards where Bowman stood behind her. "There is only one way Krystal survives this Fox, and that is: you bring me what I want. Your failure leads to her death." Dash paused, and held his left hand out toward the lion standing behind Fox. Nothing came and Dash appeared frustrated as he signaled again. Finally, a well-polished steel pistol landed in Bowman's palm. He switched his eyes over to Fox, his face holding a devious expression. "I have faith you know what this is?" He asked, openly displaying the weapon. Fox studied the reflective object and recognized it as a revolver. He was unsure of the exact caliber, but it didn't appear weak by any means.

Bowman switched the pistol to his right hand and used his left to pull a single gold shelled, flat tipped bullet from his left pant pocket; holding it up for Fox to see. ".44 magnum." Dash stated with awe as he looked down at the pistol, loaded the round, and slowly began loading it with five more rounds that he pulled from the same pocket. "Back in the good ol' days when bullet wounds leaked blood instead of searing everything shut, and the bullet itself never dissipated." Dash's voice grew eerily cheerful as he locked in the six shooter's cylinder; giving it a spin. "I loved the idea so much I just had to get one!" The instant Bowman finished loading the weapon, he looked back at Fox with a stone cold expression. "Let me show you what happens if you try to save her another way."

Both Fox and Krystal's eyes widened as their hearts started sprinting from those words.

Dash lifted the revolver and aimed it straight down Krystal's right vertically bound arm.

A shout exploded from Fox's lungs. "NO-"

The reverberating bang ended Fox's exclamation. The golden bullet entered Krystal's rotator cuff and drilled through her bones; ripping up her muscles, ligaments, and tendons, before exploding out her hand with a dense spray of blood.

Fox's mind fell to pieces.

Krystal drew her head up and released a heart shattering wail that filled the whole room. Tears poured out her eyes as she held her echoing cry until her throat gave out; yet her posture remained as if she were still wailing. After a few seconds of dead silence, she inhaled a raspy breath, then released it as she began to weep immensely.

Fox felt dead. His breath was gone, his voice was gone, his feeling was gone, and his thoughts were gone. He just sat there, listening to Krystal's pain filled sobs and screams; staring blankly, mouth ajar, at her profusely bleeding, shredded arm that would never function again.

Dash waived for something behind Fox. A moment later the electronic door slid open, then two dogs entered and stood in front of Dash. "Take her to the medical room stat, she doesn't have much time." The dogs gave a salute, which Dash returned, and they wheeled Krystal out of Fox's sight, one of them applying a tourniquet on her damaged appendage as they walked. Fox was still in shock at what he just witnessed, her wail still rung in his ears. _I failed her… I ACTUALLY failed her… The love of my life…_

Bowman squatted down in front of Fox, who was now mournfully staring into the crimson pool that Krystal left behind. Dash spoke softly. "In case you didn't understand what I have just told you, I shot only-"

"I'm going to kill you." Fox whispered as a tear rolled down his cheek, his eyes still locked on the blood of Krystal.

Bowman paused a moment, then continued. "I shot on-"

Fox instantly threw himself at Dash as hard as he physically could, nearly breaking his own wrists that were cuffed to his chair and coming close to head butting Bowman. "I SWEAR! TO GOD! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Dash didn't budge as Fox was re-gagged with the same cloth as before. Fox didn't fight it, nor did he show fear or surrender. He only kept his eyes on Dash's, displaying through them the amount of honest harm Fox pledged to give him.

Dash looked down and tried again. "It's usually smart to wait and hear what the other has to say before you go making threats, Mr. McCloud. However, with what you just went through, I'll give you grace." Bowman looked back up at Fox. "I only shot _one_ of her _four_ limbs. Each limb has two sections; two down, six to go. Do you now understand what I am telling you?" Horror stepped into Fox's eyes. "I thought so, but I'll be nice. From now on, I'll only do _one_ section at a time."

Fox responded by furrowing his brow and spitefully staring back.

Dash smiled. "It's too easy Mr. McCloud. Get the case and return here in six hours. Succeed, Krystal lives. Fail, I fail. I fail, I die. I die, she goes with me." Dash stood up and walked out of Fox's view. "In the meantime, as long as you don't try to be a hero, Krystal gets injured no further." Bowman suddenly leaped back in front of Fox and grabbed onto his wrists again, staring him dead in the eye with a haunting sincerity. "I _will know_ if you try to rescue her. I _will_ _KNOW_!" He leaned in even closer to Fox. "I _DARE YOU_ to _TEST ME_!" He spat. With that Bowman left the room which became quiet with the closing of the electronic door behind him.

Fox felt the gag release as well as the salty liquid drops that his eyes began to secrete. _This is all my fault. All her suffering traces back to me! _He bent over and began to quiver as his own weeping intensified. _Me and my protective ignorance. She was a gift to me, a privilege I never deserved, and all I did… all I've ever done, is hurt-no… RUIN HER!_ Thelion stepped back into Fox's view with his mask re-dawned. No action was taken, he just stood there with a dart in is hand, staring down at Fox.

Fox didn't even bother looking up. "_What_ are you _waiting for_?!" He said through gritted teeth.

The lion took a moment before giving his doleful answer. "I'm sorry."

Every muscle in Fox's face began to furiously twitch with perplexity and vexation. Of all the things he expected the hunter to say, that was the very last. Finding his voice, Fox lifted his head, burned a loathing stare into the predator, and exploded in rage. "Sorry?! SORRY FOR WHAT?! SORRY FOR BRINGING HER HERE TO BE TORTURED AND PERMANENTLY MAIMED?! SORRY FOR STANDING AND WATCHING IT ALL HAPPEN?! SORRY FOR TOSSING HIM THE FUCKING PISTOL?!

The beast listened no longer and swiftly pierced the dart into the side of Fox's neck.

Fox managed to get one last sentence out before going under. "You've… good as… killed her…"


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

General Peppy stood in holographic form, projected onto the floor of Admiral Shepherd's Cornerian battle ship. The projection was to scale, and if it weren't for the blue, transparent skin that Peppy held as a hologram, one would think he was physically there. Admiral Shepherd stood straight and strong in front of him, having just finished reporting their current situation; including the mercenary missing in action.

"How could things have gone so wrong this quickly…? The poor boy…" Peppy said, burning with grief. "My daughter, Lucy, is she at least alright?"

Shepherd spoke positively, trying to lift the general's spirits. "Miss Hare is just fine, sir. We are currently holding our position and keeping a keen eye on the planet, looking for any signs of further aggression, and the return of McCloud."

Relief flashed across Peppy's face after hearing of Lucy's good health. "How did he wind up down there again?" The general asked, struggling to come to grips with the loss of Fox.

"I was told he was pursuing another mercenary, a female pilot; her name was Krystal."

"Oh what have I done…?" Peppy sighed, burying his face in his hands. "I brought the two of them back together, I put them in this jeopardy, and now I might have lost them both…"

The admiral's eyes hinted pity. He had heard his fill of stories about the exalted Star Fox team, as well as general Peppy's history with them, but this was the first time he had ever witnessed an actual emotional connection between the two. "They aren't confirmed KIA yet sir. Until we see proof, they will remain MIA."

Peppy seemed to perk up at hearing that. "Quite right, no need to put them in their graves yet. Your battleships are on the way; you've done an extraordinary job of suppressing this threat. Keep it up admiral."

Shepherd beamed with pride. "Thank you sir. You have an ETA on the arrival of my pair of reinforcements?"

"Ten minutes Admiral."

"Let's hope they don't get caught up in an ambush like we did." The admiral grunted.

"They'll be taking the same route you did, so unless you left any behind?"

Shepherd cracked a smile. "I always clean my plate sir."

"Very good. Continue updating us on the situation, this is general Hare signing off."

"Until then." Shepherd answered with a well performed salute.

Peppy returned the gesture with one equally practiced, then disappeared as the hologram projector cut the transmission.

….

Falco, Lucy, and Amanda continued to fly around the once lit battlefield that now remained a dead junkyard among the stars above Venom.

"So… I'm joinin' Slip' back at the Great Fox." Falco piped up. "Either a you ladies with me?"

Lucy instantly offered rebuke. "How could you even think of relaxing at a time like this?! Fox is still down there! Don't you even care?!"

Riled as they were, Falco forced his nerves to stay cool. "Hey I _tried_ to show concern for ol Fox, but all I got told was to _shut up_!" Falco caught himself, calmed himself, and then continued. "So until he show's his fu-_uzzy_ face, I'm gonna chill back at the ship; maybe even have a beer with Slip'."

"That's the _last _thing I'm in the mood for right now Falco! R.O.B. and I are still finishing up repairs!" Slippy stated, stressed as ever.

"Your loss. Lucy, Amanda, let me know when the fearless leader shows up."

Back on the battleship, Admiral Shepherd had been silently listening to yet another quarrel between the glorious Star Fox team. _These are the ones who saved this universe countless times eh?_ He chuckled to himself. He was about to interject again and order the bird to stay right where he was, due to the chance of another attack that could occur any second; but his right hand lieutenant spoke before he could.

"Sir, our radar is picking up something. Two objects are emerging from the planet and headed straight towards us."

"Get those identified ASAP." Shepherd ordered.

Amanda butted in. "No need, Admiral, we'd recognize those ships anywhere."

Excitement found its way back into Lucy's voice. "It's Fox! And Krystal!"

Shepherd smiled. "Well, well, looks like he pulled it off after all."

Lucy could hardly contain herself. "Fox! Fox! Are you okay?! What happened?! How are you?!"

For once it seemed something in their day was about to go right for them, but the building joy ceased when there was no response. The two fighters just continued to head full speed towards the surviving fleet.

The edges of Lucy's smile slowly began to withdraw. "Fox?" She asked again, her expression transforming to one that matched her rising uneasy state.

The pilots of the incoming arwings remained silent, Krystal's arwing held its pace while Fox's seemed to increase its speed.

Even Falco had turned back to observe the turn of events. "Talk to us Fox." He ordered, feeling the same unease as Lucy.

Finally, the arwings drew near to the battleships. Krystal's fighter peeled away from Fox's and began to circle around the entire area, while Fox's held its course and began heading away from the group.

Neither Lucy nor Falco gave warning to their immediate takeoff after the rabbiting fighter, as if in a race to see who could catch up to it first. Amanda was tempted to follow, but her eyes traced back to Krystal's fighter when she heard it give its first transmission.

"This is Krystal requesting permission to land in the starboard dock of cruiser charlie-eighteen, my Cloud Runner is in desperate need of repairs."

Amanda decided to stay behind and see how this played out. She didn't like how calm Krystal sounded.

…..

A rivulet flowed from each of Fox's determined eyes as he headed straight for Katina in his Arwing II, his sight giving audience only to whatever obstacle might stray into his path. The noiseless vacuum of space now filled his ears with the cursed, never ending cry of Krystal's suffering; Fox could still see her mangled arm. How clear that image was to him: the shards of her obliterated bone protruding all sections of her arm, opening up countless areas for her blood to pour from. How haunting was that blood that had pooled itself beneath her chair and remained after her removal, left there to chastise Fox for his failure to protect her. _Here is the result of your choice! Here lies the consequence of your action! Here shouts the eternity of your punishment! This blood is none other than your doing! This blood is on none other than YOUR HANDS! _

Fox screwed his eyes shut and grit his teeth, pushing his fighter to go even faster. His life no longer mattered to him. The galaxy, the civilians, Slippy, Peppy, Lucy, Amanda, R.O.B., his mother, his father, no one retained their value; nothing held its worth. Fox had one purpose now: to return to Krystal the life he stole from her. As soon as she was back in Panther's arms, Fox's life would be complete. All dreams of being with her were gone. He loved her, but now with the maiming of her arm, he knew he had maimed any possible chance of turning his fantasies to reality; all it took was one bullet. The shot blasted through his thoughts, momentarily overtaking the ghostly, continuous wailing of Krystal. _That shot… that one damn shot!_

Fox traced the bullet back to the gun that fired it, then to the hand that pulled the trigger, ending at the owner of the hand. Fox opened his eyes, allowing the tears to stream freely again whilst a dark countenance fell upon them. He began to visualize the moment Krystal was free from Dash's firm fist, conspiring maniacal acts against the primate. _I don't care if the galaxy suffers, I don't care if you gain what you want, I don't care if I come out of this alive. After Krystal is safe, your blood will be the next thing to defile the white floor. _Fox's face grew somber, while his eyes exposed a savage lust. _I will slice off your eyelids, and make sure you watch every last ounce drain from your veins! _

Fox pushed his arwing's speed to its limits, paying no attention to the roaring engine that begged for mercy through the panels of the cockpit. _This will happen Dash! I will kill you! Your flesh will tear! Your blood will spill! I will kill you! I WILL KILL YOU!_

…..

"Fox! Please answer us!" Lucy begged, panicking over her leader's silence. Her Sky Bunny was falling behind the Arwing II and Falco's Sky Claw. "Falco, can you see him in there?! Is he okay?!

"It's Fox alright, but you don't want to know what he looks like right now…" Falco answered, his voice leaking concern for the first time that Lucy could ever remember.

"What kind of answer is that?!" Lucy freaked, "Is he alive?!"

"He's alive, and fully conscious. He just looks as if he's been through hell and back." _Guess Venom ol' do that to ya… _Then it hit Falco. "Ya know, you'd better remember this next time _I'm_ asking for stuff!"

"You really want to go into this now?!" Lucy furiously yelled.

"All I'm saying is for you to remember it!" Falco answered, positioning his Sky Claw above and to the port side of the Arwing II. Suddenly he swooped down towards the fighter, aiming to strike its wing with his own.

….

Fox wished for nothing more than to wake from this nightmare, like all the other previous times he had on Venom, but Krystal's howling and weeping wouldn't yield; it just kept getting louder. The sight of her wound wouldn't fade from his sight, the scarlet liquid that flowed from it now seemed to drip from the image onto his own hands. Fox knew of one way to end the horror, all he'd have to do is disable his arwing's life support, and it would all be over. _But not for Krystal… she's still suffering! She's still at the mercy of that tortuous maniac! I can't heal her, I can't rescue her, and I can't protect her! _For this nightmare there was no way out, there was no escape. All Fox could do was submit, give Bowman what he wanted, and prey he would release her. _No! _Fox changed his mind. _You will release her you bastard! She will go free, and when she does, your suffering will begin! My dying promise is that you will wish you had NEVER, BEEN, BORN! Only then will I kill you! I WILL KILL-_

Fox was jerked back into reality when he felt the left wing of his arwing get smashed into. Fox looked over at the assaulted area and saw what had tried to slow him down.

….

"What are you doing Falco?! You could've just killed him!"

Falco swept to the starboard side of Fox's spacecraft from underneath it. "You gotta have more faith in these arwings, they can take all kinds of punishment."

"That aside, how is this helping?!"

"You know how Fox can get hyper-focused, he's on a mission. I'm just trying to get his attention."

Falco had hopes that it worked when the Arwing II began to fly upwards and circle around to the rear of Lucy and he. "Fox, can you hear me bud? You _gotta_ start removing your head from the stars!"

There came an answer, but it wasn't one Falco was expecting. As he watched Fox position himself behind the two of them, the Arwing II's blasters lit up and sent laser bolts headed straight towards Falco's Sky Claw. Falco rolled his fighter away from Lucy, attempting to stay clear of the continuous light storm the followed. "Looks like it worked a little too well!"

Lucy couldn't believe her eyes. Her body locked up as she sat and frightfully watched. "Fox, what're you doing?!"

….

Fox wiped the saltine fluid from his eyes that kept working to blur his vision. Two fighters had entered his flight space and were now trying to take him down, his mind would need to be clear to take them out swift and efficient so he could carry on with his mission. _Nothing else matters. _He thought as he made his way around the fighters and placed himself behind them. _Krystal will live, and you will not stop me._

…..

"Fox, you're really making it hard to resist defending myself right now!" Falco said, driving his fighter downwards then spinning upwards to his port side. "Lucy, care to help a fella out?!"

Lucy was still struggling to accept the scenario. "What do you expect me to do?! Shoot him?!"

"It's gonna be him or me!" Falco shouted, then he thought about what he just said. "Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like the answer to that statement…"

Lucy was flooded with guilt, Falco was right. She couldn't just stand by and watch him get torn to pieces. _But why does it have to be YOU Fox?! You trained me, you fed me, you housed me, and you gave me a place in the galaxy! Please don't make me repay you like this… _

Falco grunted in anger as Fox's fire finally raked the outer wing of his Sky Claw. Falco decided that was enough. "Alright Fox, you asked for it!" Falco drove his fighter downwards and performed a summersault-spin maneuver, ending right where he wanted; headed straight up towards the bottom of Fox's arwing. "I'll try not to make this hurt too much!" Falco squeezed the triggers on his control wheel, and let loose on Fox.

…..

Fox pulled to his right to dodge the assault, though he still felt a few lasers ram into the Arwings belly. If it weren't for his shields, it would've been a lethal blow. Fox grit his teeth, screwing his expression into one of murderous determination as he pulled up on his control wheel and threw his space craft into a backflip just in time for the fighter to fly by right under him. Following through the flip, Fox was back behind his attacker and began blasting away at the fighter.

…

_Damn! _Falco thought harshly. He had hoped to deplete Fox's shields, then circle back around for a wounding blow to one of the Arwing II's wings; but all he had succeeded in doing was pissing off Fox even further. Fortunately, the Sky Claw had just enough of a speed advantage over Fox's arwing. Falco put distance between the two of them, then perform a sudden drift; planting himself face to face with Fox. _My turn_.

…..

All throughout the skirmish, Lucy still remained at a distance; unable to convince herself to take action. She watched in fear for both pilot's lives as they entered into the famous space joust, dancing around each other's shots whilst trying to hit each other. Lucy knew she was between a rock and a hard place. _If I sit back and do nothing, either Fox or Falco is going to get the winning blow. If I intervene and try to disorientate Fox, I could kill him! But not doing so could get Falco killed, or allow HIM to kill Fox! _"Agh!" She cried, grabbing both her ears and tugging them down along the sides of her face. "Why is this happening?!" Then it hit her; she released her ears as she recalled when Leon had knocked out Falco with a smart bomb. _Falco had gotten himself far enough away from the blast to survive, he just lost consciousness._ Lucy had one smart bomb equipped to her fighter to use in desperate times. _If I can time the explosion, I can safely end this whole thing! _

Thankful that the two Star Fox members had entered their joust, allowing Lucy to catch up, she circled around the dual and parked herself about four hundred meters from them. _Two hundred meters in, two hundred meters out. I'll have to book it once it's launched, but it's the only chance I have to save them both! _She laid her petite fingers on the joystick button that would launch the bomb, setting it to have a four second delay on the detonation. _That should be enough time to ignite at the half way point. _She looked up at the stars and sent out another prayer. _You've protected me, now please… protect them. _She pressed the button.

…...

Fox's patience was depleted as he passed his opponent for the third time, still failing to end its miserable existence. Every second he spent wasting time with it was another second Krystal continued to suffer. _I have to end this now! _He began running through his options. Dash had the _decency_ to replenish the Arwing II's smart bombs, and Fox knew just where to launch one as soon as he passed his opponent to finish it off; or at least daze it long enough to shred it with his blasters. He'd have to absorb the shock of the blast as well, but not nearly as much as his opponent. _It's a cheap tactic, but I'm done fooling around trying to finally best it with skill._ As Fox drifted around for the next round, he prepared the bomb. Once the fighter had taken its place on the other side of the battle zone, Fox threw his thrusters to full speed and took off towards his target. _Last time! _He promised.

….

Falco took off not a second after he saw Fox's boosters send him rocketing forward. _You're good Fox, but I'm better. You can't keep dodging me forever! _He cracked a smile. _Let's see what you think of a quick spin around right after you pass me. What kind of burn will you feel when I hammer unsuspected blasts into your engine exhaust?! _Falco kept his speed fast enough to not arouse suspicion, but slow enough to make the turn as soon as Fox swept by.

…

The distance closed, Fox laid his thumb on the button on his joystick, tensed to give his spacecraft the order, but it never came. The last thing Fox could remember was a white light going off to the side of him, completely filling his vision. _Krystal… Can't… let her die… _The colorless blur eventually faded, and Fox found himself lying on a cold, metal surface in a hanger; looking up into the faces of pink rabbit, a green frog, and a blue falcon.

…

Lucy, Slippy, and Falco watched vigilantly as the fox they had just removed from his fighter and laid on the Great Fox II hanger floor began to wake.

"He's coming to!" Slippy stated excitedly.

"Fox?" Lucy asked tenderly, placing her hand on his shoulder.

Her outreach was instantly rejected when Fox smacked it away, jumped to his feet, and took up a fighting stance, facing his three captors. "WHERE AM I?! WHO ARE YOU?!" He shouted.

…..

Falco saw that coming the split second Fox's pupils dilated, he only wished he had enough time to warn Lucy and Slippy, who had looks of pure horror and confusion on their faces; which only worsened with their leader's demands. "Something's extremely wrong with you if you _still_ don't recognize us." Falco said, agitated.

Slippy began to approach Fox. "Fox, its Slippy… Don't you remem-"

"STAY BACK!" Fox ordered, causing Slippy to jump away as Fox tensed for an attack.

Lucy's mind was thrown into a world of chaos as she beheld her terrified leader. She had never seen him, let alone another being, in such condition. Dried blood covered just about every portion of his matted fur and ravaged clothing. Claw marks drug across the top of his head and another set pierced through his tactical vest at the chest. The middle of his left bottom lip sustained a cut that stretched towards his jawline. His headset was gone, and his face held additional cuts and bruises on both sides distinctive enough to be seen through his fur. Lucy marveled at how he was still alive. On top of everything, he was acting as if he had never seen any of them in his entire life.

The mental weight of it all broke her. Ten minutes ago he had attacked Falco, and just now he appeared ready to do the same to Slippy. Lucy couldn't take it anymore; the Fox she knew had to come back. A tear left her eye as she marched up to him and went to slap him. "Why won't you remember us?!"

"Lucy, DON'T!" Falco yelled. He went to stop her, but he was just out of reach when Fox acted.

…..

Fox prepared himself as the pink rabbit came towards him. Catching her striking hand, Fox kept hold of it as he turned away from her, then pulled on her arm until she flipped her over his shoulders and was slammed onto the ground in front of him. He drew his knife and went to end his offender, but came to a dead stop when he felt a cold metal tip touch the back of his head.

"You even scrape her with that blade, I will not hesitate to shoot you." The voice of the blue falcon stated.

Fox kept his concentration on the rabbit, whose eyes trembled in disbelief at what he had just done.

"Falco, let's just calm down here!" Slippy nervously pleaded.

_Falco… _The name rung in Fox's head.

"He's not going to hurt Lucy, right Fox?" Slippy continued. "You were only protecting yourself right?"

_Lucy…_ Fox was beginning to remember.

"Protect himself my tail feathers!" Falco hollered.

Fox remained focused on the rabbit as he began to fully recognize her. "Lucy…" He looked around the room at Falco and Slippy. At that moment, everything he had done hit him all at once. Releasing Lucy's hand, he stood up and offered his hand to her, who warily accepted it. "I… I'm sorry…" Fox whispered once she was eye to eye with him.

Lucy offered a small smile. "It's fine… I'm just glad your back."

Fox turned around to face Falco, who had lowered the pistol upon Fox's standing. "I'm… I'm so sorry…" He repeated.

"All I want to know is what's goin' on." Falco replied, suppressing his irritation. "What the hell happened down on Venom?"

Fox stared off into the space beyond Falco, all the screaming and the images came sprinting back to him. "We were captured."

Falco furrowed his feathered brow. "By whom?"

Fox shut his eyes, attempting to control the anger, disgust, fear, and shock that was plaguing him. "Dash Bowman." He whispered.

Lucy gave a slight gasp whilst Slippy removed his favorite red and white ball cap and threw it on the ground. "He survived?!" He questioned.

"How'd you two escape?" Falco interjected, trying to move the conversation along. After today's events, nothing surprised him anymore.

"We didn't." Fox said, looking off into the distance again.

"Then how the hell did the two of you manage to fly off that planet?!"

"_We_ didn't." Fox repeated. "She's still there…"

"Bull shit! I watched her follow you in her Cloud Runner, she broke away from you as you flew on ahead!"

Fox shifted his stare at Falco, his face now portrayed grave sincerity. "She's not in the cockpit."

Falco was taken back a bit. "Then who is?"

"It doesn't matter… There's no stopping him…"

Falco threw his hands up in the air with frustration. "Excellent!" He looked over at Slippy. "Slip, go let Shepherd know he's got a possible disguised threat in th-" Before he could finish, he felt two hands grab his jacket collar and drive his body backward until it slammed against a large, wide, multi-shelved tool box on the hanger floor.

Fox held Falco in place while he barked out, "You will not stop him, not as long as he still has her!"

Falco was beginning to prove himself wrong that nothing else today could surprise him, Fox's sudden offense actually struck a bolt of fear through him. Rarely had Fox ever displayed such brute force. "So she's a hostage, there's ways around this Fox! But first we have to prevent-"

"THERE'S NO PREVENTING! Bowman made it _VERY_ clear to me that if his plan falls through, they're going to kill him!"

"I fail to see where this is a bad thing?!"

Fox leaned in closer. "He'll take Krystal with him."

"Then we kill him first, or we get the Cornerian Special Forces to sneak in and rescue her! They've done stuff like that many times! There _are options _Fox!"

Fox drew his pistol and put it right to Falco's lower beak. "I, won't, risk it." He growled.

The action didn't even phase Falco, he'd had enough. He shoved Fox off of him. "So you're telling me that we're supposed to bow down and give the galaxy to this guy?! That no matter what we do, he's gonna kill Krystal?! We have to do something Fox! I understand the risk, but you have to compare one life versus trillions!"

Fox started slowly shaking his head. "He's not going to just kill her." Suddenly he voiced a deranged chuckle. "That's the best part. He's just going to shred her limbs." He continued his light laughter. "One by one."

Horror leapt onto Falco's face.

Tears began rolling down Fox's cheeks as he continued his demented chuckling, his eyes fearfully widening as he relived the ghastly moment. "He-he shattered one right in front of me… just took the gun, and… and sent a bullet right into her shoulder; _straight down_ her arm."

Lucy clasped her hands over her mouth, a tear now rolled from her eye at hearing the horrid act.

Fox's laughing turned into an unhindered sobbing as he dropped his hand blaster and fell to the ground, propped up on his knees and elbows. He tried his best to speak through his weeping. "If… if he gets even the… smallest hint that the military knows of his plans… If he even suspects that… I'm trying to find a way to save her other than… what he's told me to do… she will suffer; she will suffer worse than anything imaginable." Fox looked up at Falco through his saltine fluid soaked eyes. "He will make her, and me alongside her, _beg_ him to just kill her…"

Falco was rendered speechless. Fox had been right all along. All the false alarms they reported too, all the distress calls that turned out to be phony, Fox had finally stumbled upon the real thing. Bowman was alive, and now he had Fox in his hands like a puppet; by a means that not even a nightmare could do justice. Guilt reared its ugly head inside of Falco. _All the shit I've ever given him… _Falco came to a conclusion. He knelt down beside Fox, who had dropped his head back towards the floor. "So… what does he want you to do?"

"I hardly even know…" Fox whispered. "I'm supposed to go to Katina and meet up with someone who'll guide me to a case of valuable equipment that Dash wouldn't even describe to me, steal it, and report back to him. By now, I've only got..." Fox took a moment to look at a watch that Falco had never seen before, a watch that had a set time ticking away on its screen. "Four hours, thirty-nine minutes until it's over for me, and it begins for her…"

_This just keeps getting better. _Falco mused, taking a moment to think the whole situation over. "Katina huh? Robbing the place is going to be no small task. You're gonna need help."

Fox looked back up at Falco.

Falco raised his voice. "R.O.B., set course for Katina, and make it a real snappy trip."

R.O.B. responded over the comm line. "COURSE CHARTED. BRACE FOR MOVEMENT."

Falco returned audience to Fox. "What was the last thing you ate?"

Fox had to think for a moment. He hadn't given any genuine thought to food for hours, he wasn't even sure how much time had passed during his presence on Venom. "Protein pills." He answered.

"Dear Lylat…" Falco mumbled, face-palming himself with his feathered hand. "Slip', get him something _real_ to eat."

"I'll whip up something quick!" Slip exclaimed as he charged off on his newfound mission.

"I'm not sure if I even _can _eat right now…" Fox uttered.

"Too bad. If you're gonna steal from the capital Cornerian military base in this system, you're going to put something more in your stomach than freakin' _pills_." Falco looked Fox over. "Plus, you're going to take a shower and get into some new clothes, because _you_ are a _freakin' mess_!

R.O.B.'s voice came over the Great Fox's intercom. "DISTRESS CALL FROM AMANDA."

Next came Amanda's voice. "Guys, are you all deaf?! I've been trying to hail you forever! Cruiser Charlie-Eighteen has been infiltrated! I don't know who was in the Cloud Runner, but it wasn't Krystal!"

Falco looked at Fox, his expression asking for orders. No words were needed for Fox's response. The decision was made. Falco grit his teeth behind his beak. "Amanda, stand down. Return to the Great Fox."

"Excuse me?! Did I not make myself clear?! People are dying in there!"

"Amanda, don't argue with this one. Just get back here."

"I want an explanation, feathers!"

_That's new._ Falco thought. "You're not getting one. Get back here or we ship off without you. R.O.B., cut the line."

"COMM LINE TERMINATED."

Throughout the conversation, Falco never broke his locked-in stare with Fox, questioning his own sanity. Krystal was an important figure to the whole Star Fox team, and no living thing deserved to be shot to pieces, but he had to ask himself: _Is her freedom worth giving in to a terrorist? Is trading trillions of lives to rescue her from her tormentor the moral choice? _For Fox, the choice was clear. For Falco, even with their charted course to Katina, it still hung in the balance.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

A young pit bull fell to the ground; choking on blood that began filling his lungs from the shrapnel that had torn through his upper body. The dog gasped for air in vain as any room for oxygen was becoming occupied by his internal fluid. Panic set in as the CSC (Cornerian Space Core) mechanic realized his fate, but his will to live wouldn't cave. _Keep your eyes open! _He ordered. _Don't go into shock! _He continued to struggle valiantly, hoping for a miracle that would never come.

The pit bull didn't hear nor see the pair of black boots that landed right beside him, nor the individual that filled them. The last thing the dog saw was the flash of a pistol's muzzle aimed straight at his head. The soldier went limp on the floor as his life was extinguished from existence. The now empty shell lay with the rest of its once breathing brethren in the hanger of charlie-eighteen.

The lion stood as the lone survivor of the carnage. Not many soldiers had been on hand in the landing deck when he had first arrived in the hanger, disguised in the fighter that allowed him to enter without retort from the rapid fire turbolaser turrets that stood guard on both sides of its entrance with a force field that acted as its door, which the operators of the charlie-eighteen landing deck deactivated with trust that they were welcoming a prestigious member of Star Fox; trust that was shattered when the Cloud Runner opened fire on every living thing, piece of defensive equipment, and security camera in the hanger.

When the beast had landed the spacecraft, he landed amidst shattered crates of various supplies, burning oil and fuel canisters, crippled fighters that erupted and burned from their own internal fluids and electric wiring, and all the shredded, scorched bodies of the jet chamber's current occupants. The hunter had wasted no time remaining in the cockpit, he had multiple ideas of what was coming next. He had grabbed his sniper rifle and leapt to the floor; landing right next to the fatally wounded pit bull.

The lion had looked upon him with pity, observing the striving spirit that shined from his iris' as he tried to fight past his scarlet filled lungs in order to stay conscious. _I will spare you from such a death. _He thought as he released his supporting hand from his rifle and reached for a rapid fire laser pistol strapped to his thigh. Aiming at the head of the soldier, he pulled the trigger and released him from his suffering. Sheathing the pistol, he spent no more time on the matter as he began walking towards the steel entry door that lead deeper into the ship, mentally planning for what he knew was coming his way.

They were known as the CSC IRT (Infiltration Response Team). Corneria had trained these responders to be able to neutralize any threat that were to invade the ship as quickly, and with the least amount of collateral damage, as possible. Their skills far outweighed the combat effectiveness of even the most decorated infantrymen. Partnered with their abilities, the government armed them with the most efficient tactical gear and weapons known to animal kind. Thanks to Dash's corrupt soldiers on the inside of the continuously unsuspecting Cornerian military, the lion knew every aspect of it all.

Their base uniform was a flame retardant BDU (Battle Dress Uniform) of a steel gray color that matched the interior walls of the ship. Their hands were gloved in a smoky blue fire proof material same as the BDU. On their left forearm they wore a flat, touch screen VDT (visual display terminal) that allowed them to control certain aspects of the ship from their person. Their boots, upper body armor, and helmets were tinted the same color as the gloves and made of a carbon fiber alloy. The hunter had little understanding of the armor, but he knew all too well of its abilities.

The anatomy of the material used in the armor had a bond strong as diamond, yet remained remarkably lightweight and could absorb, then dissipate offensive energy by adaptively relaxing as it underwent the impact of its offender. Topping it off, the alloy was unable to retain heat; making even some high caliber laser and plasma based munitions useless against it.

The IRT's boots ran up to their knees and their upper body plates covered all but their arms. The soldier's headgear left only their snout and anterior part of their necks vulnerable: a neon green, polycarbonate visor stretched across both eyes of the wearer, while the rest of their skull was covered in a dome shaped helmet that held an imperial design. The helmet's posterior end spread down far enough to shield the back of the wearer's neck.

In the knowledgeable hands of each IRT member lay a three shot round burst laser rifle equipped with an adaptable holographic to ACOG sight; the ACOG holding thermal capabilities.

Trained to face, outwit, and kill things both known and unknown to them, the CSC IRT was one of the deadliest forces known to the universe. To the hunter, they were his next game.

He stopped at the top of the long ramp that led up to a solid balcony that stretched along the elongated wall that contained the doorway to the internal portion of the ship. Removing his supporting hand from his sniper rifle, he reached into a tactical pouch that stretched along his entire spine and pulled out a handful of black, solid spheres about four centimeters in diameter each. He bent down and scattered them all across the surface that lay in front of the silver doors, sending a few rolling down both ends of the raised platform.

Right as the last ball left his hand, the predator heard the footsteps of his approaching company. _I'm ready for you, my prey. _Sliding his rifle onto his back, he pulled out his pistol and aimed it toward a rafter about one-hundred-meters posterior to him in the hanger ceiling. Grasping the blaster with his other hand as he turned to face it, he pulled a secondary trigger placed three centimeters ahead of the primary. Out launched a grappling line that attached itself to the horizontal beam through an activated magnet. In the split second before the pull the lion tightened his grip while relaxing the rest of the muscles in his body, aiming to lessen the toll the jerk would take on him. The tug came strong, but his grip proved stronger as he lifted off the ground and flew towards the ceiling right as his ears picked up the heavy click of the steel doors preparing to open. The entrance split and a missile bolted through it; heading straight for the Cloud Runner and delivering an instant death sentence upon impact. The lion curled himself into a ball to shield his vital areas from the flame and debris; his exosuit protected the rest of him from the heat and small shrapnel that could reach the twenty-five-meter high ceiling. Following the missile was a thick smoke cover that flooded into the hanger via the doorway, providing around an eight square meter concealment for the incoming squad of soldiers.

These stealth attempts never phased the hunter, his mask's thermal vision could see through most screens of any kind. He switched it on and observed the last two of a ten dog group run into the room and take up positions exactly where he planned. They remained inside the smokescreen, able to see him equally as clear with their own headgear.

The beast smirked under his mask.

Right as the first Infiltration Response member spotted him and raised his weapon to fire, the lion pressed down on an ignition stick he held in his free hand. Simultaneously, the floor on which the defense team stood lit up in an enormous plume of fire, heating the surrounding air to an alarming temperature; burning their exposed necks and muzzles as well as overwhelming their thermal vision. The beast used the opportunity to lower himself back down to the floor, sprint up the ramp, into the smoke, past the ten temporarily blind soldiers and into the hallway from which they came.

During the run the hunter drew his rifle from his back and locked the scope down against right side of the weapon. As he neared the passage entrance he slowed his pace and brought the sniper rifle's holographic sight up to his right eye. The rifle's speed and power was near the only thing that could penetrate through the armor of the CSC IRT, he would need a sight that allowed him to keep his view open and easily switch from target to target.

The beast cleared the smoke and laid eyes on six soldiers that were positioned at different distance points along the approximately hallway; the first two were taking cover behind steel panels that had about a two square meter dimension and were placed only three meters ahead of him. In less than a second, the lion placed the red dot on the head of the dog closest to him and pulled the trigger.

The instant the blast left the barrel he swiftly shifted his aim over to the soldier on the other side, lining up his sights and releasing another shot right as the first bullet hit its target. As he released the trigger, the lion rolled behind the thick, steel barricade that his first target on the opposite side had used for cover; who now lay motionless on the floor with a small hole burned deep into his brain. The predator grabbed the corpse's head and yanked his entire body over to his side of panel. He acted with a purpose as he listened to the bullets burn into the opposite side of his cover, and kept tabs on the group right outside the passage. He grabbed the dead soldier's VDT and quickly searched out door controls, finding the option for it already on the screen's main menu. The hunter knew it wouldn't be hard to find, they were always programmed to be easily accessible in case the IRT member needed to create a split second barricade. Once the option was selected, it instantly honed in on his location and gave him the door controls for all entryways in his vicinity. Choosing the one that went to the hanger, he shut the massive, dense steel doors right as the HUD (heads up display) of the ten IRT soldiers outside the hallway had cleared.

His mind raced to the next step, knowing the dogs he just shut out could easily reopen the door any second. He swiftly pulled out a secure digital card out of a slotted pocket on the right shoulder of his exosuit and inserted it into the designated slot on the VDT.

A voice came over the headset the lion had built into his mask. "Standby… I am now in the system. How can I-"

"Lock hanger two's entry door and deactivate the hanger's security force fields _now_." The beast demanded in as hushed a tone as possible. With that he dropped the wrist and braced himself for his next move. The four remaining IRT soldiers had ceased fire around two seconds ago, and the beast knew two of them were already creeping up on him. They'd come side by side so they could fire simultaneously as soon as they had him in sight, one aiming toward the top of his cover and the other aiming at the side of it. Their thermal sights would be off since the smoke had cleared, so a heat blind was now useless. He'd have to beat them with a distraction and a faster trigger finger. He could hear their footsteps now.

He reached for his laser pistol with his supporting hand and fired a shot from it at the ceiling. The second the shot left the weapon he dropped the pistol, firmly held his rifle in the fire-ready position, and jumped sideways out from his panel. Promptly spotting the two soldiers hardly a meter away, the lion aimed at the one whose barrel was pointing lower and put a round in his chest right before hitting the ground as his lunge drew to a close. After the landing gave its impact, the lion brought his aim to his left and put a second round in the chest of the other IRT dog. As the beast slid to a halt he grabbed the foot of the third soldier he killed and yanked it over to him for cover from the two remaining IRT members. Once within better reach, he grabbed it by the armors scruff and sat up with it, turning the body into a human shield.

He lifted the rifle up with his firing arm until his eye looked through its sights. Honing his holographic sight in on the exposed head of the first of the two surviving soldiers, located to his right six meters down the hallway, he scorched the interior of the dog's snout with a laser bullet, then swung his aim over to the other soldier and brought the annoying hammering into his shield to a halt. Both bodies fell to the ground, and the lion once again remained as the sole victor of the battle. From the moment he entered the passageway, the whole skirmish had taken him twelve seconds.

The beast threw his dead cover to the side and stood up. "Are the dogs in the hanger taken care of?"

The voice from before answered. "Too easy, they're sleeping among the stars now. You just have no way off unless you make your way to another hanger."

"I won't be leaving." The beast stated as he leaned down to pick up his pistol he had previously dropped, sliding it back into its holster strapped to his leg.

"Just giving you some situational awareness."

The lion started walking down the hallway. "How about you follow your programming and give me troop locations."

"That's situational awareness. There are four more IRT members waiting fifteen meters down this hallway, with two turns for you to take on your way. One to the left, and one to the right. Standby… Note: there is a trap ahead that they intend to use to hold you until they can figure out a way to dispose of you. They will enclose you between two mobile force fields that can adaptively position themselves along the hallway."

The predator just finished rounding the first turn. "Let them. Don't do anything until I give the order."

"Procrastinating my primary directive could prove futile, for you."

The hunter didn't appreciate the last two snide words of that statement, but he ignored his irritation and kept walking down the passage, coming up on the second turn.

"I can see you are arrogant. I shall stand by and hope for the best." The voice said, his tone carrying a hint of irony.

The beast froze, his eyes grew wide, and everything flashed white.

A voice from a past memory spoke out. "You and your arrogance… I'll wait. Over."

The flash faded to black, and the lion slowly opened a door that lead to a widespread, flat roof under a clear sky. The sun exposed the fur on his arms and face for its dark golden color as it warmed his darker brown, pony-tailed mane. The breeze met him instantaneously and kept the heat at a comfortable level; his clothing working towards that even further. He wore a light weight, short sleeved, tan colored over-shirt with pockets symmetrically placed on his sleeves, chest, and abdomen. Cargo pants of the same color clothed his lower body with brown leather, oil tanned, steel toed boots encasing his feet. On his right wrist he wore a matte black weather/terrain proof watch, and his knees and elbows were protected by black pads. He answered the voice via a small communications earpiece he kept concealed under his mane as he dropped to the ground and began crawling to the roof's edge. "We need both of our eyes on before you give Hotel team the go, especially with the glare we'll be fighting from the sun. Over."

"We both know our scopes are built to adjust for that factor, you just want an equal shot at the hostiles. Over."

"Be professional."

"For you that translates to arrogance. Over."

"Eyes on." The hunter said, forcefully halting the conversation as he reached the roofs edge and began setting up his sniper rifle in a steady, comfortable firing position.

"You never could stay in it to win it. Copy eyes on. Hotel, your overwatch is in position. All eyes on target building. Over."

A second voice came over the comm line. "Good copy, angels are in the clouds. Let us know when you part the seas, over."

"Standby." The first voice replied. "Guardian five, what's swimming on your end? Over."

The predator had already scoped the place out. Approximately three quarters of a kilometer from his position was a ten story building that greatly outdid its own width. It was placed in the mist of other buildings that measured up to half its height at most. From there the structures stretched into a city that was densely populated.

_It's always populated._ The lion thought. _We can never complete these assignments without reading about a collateral damage, casualty, or death in the news the next day!_ Eventually he just blocked it out; he had stopped reading the papers after his sixth mission in the cities. _Do the job, achieve the goal, and go home_. Still, some tasks made him wonder if he was really fighting for the right people.

The hunter himself was watching from a seven stories tall building that gave him a great view of the floor that surrounded the south half of the target building. A solid steel wall a little over four meters tall surrounded the compound of interest with electrified wire tracing its peak, creating a courtyard with a near thirty meter radius. Crates, large shipping containers, tactical hovercrafts, patrol guards and physical labor workers of various species filled the inner compound. No gate was present on the south side; his partner had that covered on the north end.

The beast switched on his scope's thermal vision and checked to make sure there were no other armed animals walking close to the tall perimeter fence. "Three pairs of security officers patrolling the south end. I can promise two of them down when this kicks off, then I'll do what I can for the last couple. No promises. Over."

"Your game down a bit today Guardian five?" Replied his partner. "Usually you never leave anything behind?"

"Cute, Guardian ten; you should pay more attention to your field of vision."

"I can multitask, they wouldn't have let me become Guardian Angel if I couldn't."

"For an Angel, you talk _way_ too much. Over."

"This Angel's expressive, and she's going to make sure she gets everything off of her mind before the good Lord takes her. Over."

The lion couldn't resist smiling, he admired her stubbornness. She was a fighter, never one to quit. She had the patience for this field and she lived off the thrill of a successful hunt. It was no wonder that she earned her spot with the Guardian Angels. The predator only wished neither of them had ever joined.

He shook himself free of the memory, refusing to allow it to go any further. He kept walking and forgot he had even had it.

He approached his second corner and stopped as he reached its edge. "Get me feed of the hallway that the trap is set at."

"Streaming to your HUD now."

Momentarily, the hunter's eyes observed a rear view of the four IRT members awaiting his approach. The first two were hiding behind the corners of a hallway that intersected the hallway of interest. The other two were three meters further down the passage taking cover behind panels identical to the ones they had utilized near the hanger entrance. All four soldiers were trained on the corner the lion was preparing to round.

_Too easy. _The beast thought as he backed away from the corner and reached into his backpack for another handful of his anti-thermal explosives. "Lock onto them and transfer their exact locations from the security feed to my HUD."

"You know a _please_ before these requests would be appreciated."

"Your opinion wasn't a part of my orders."

"Yet my programming doesn't prohibit me from voicing it. You're HUD is now locked on to all four hostiles."

The predator observed four hollow mini red diamonds appear before his eyes in the exact locations of each troop around the corner. _Perfect_. Without wasting another second, the lion chucked the pile of mini spheres from his hand at just the right angle for them to bounce off the opposite wall of the hallway and bounce toward the IRT members. Laser rounds hailed down upon the launched projectiles the instant they entered the IRT's sight. The lion counted to four, starting from the moment the explosives left his hand, then pushed down on the trigger stick he had used before. Swiftly he threw the igniter back into his pack and brought his rifle up to his shoulder, holding it firmly in the fire-ready position as he walked around the corner, ferociously eyeing the four diamonds in case they decided to pop up from their cover and attempt to take a blind shot.

Soon as he had walked hardly a meter down the hallway, a blue force field lit up behind him and blocked his escape, whilst another one three meters ahead of him activated, trapping him between the two energy composed walls. Right on cue, both walls slid towards him and took away the extra walking space, leaving him with the same width of the hallway, but its length had been reduced to half a meter. The predator took caution not to make a move that would be slapped back at him by the intense shock of the artificial walls.

A stern, masculine, agitated voice flooded the halls. "Your turns over; now it's mine." Admiral Shepherd appeared in the setup hallway via the intersecting passageway; his lieutenant followed close behind him. He removed his hand from a miniature mic that was clipped to the collar of his dress uniform, looking the mask of the beast dead in its blood-red eyes. "And let me tell you: you've really _pissed_ me off."

With a snap of the admiral's fingers, the distance between the walls suddenly closed enough to come in complete contact with the front and back of the intruder without crushing him. The intruder roared in immense pain as it felt like every centimeter of his body was being furiously beaten with white-hot steel fists. The walls spread again and the lion collapsed to his side and his rifle with him.

Shepherd walked right up to the transparent wall and knelt down near the position of the hunter's head. "I have half a mind to close that distance again and leave it there until your mental endurance shatters from the unbearable pain. There's only one way you can even have a spark of hope to escape that fate. You tell me what the hell you're doing on my ship, stealing the valuable lives of _my men_; and you explain where the hell you got, and what the hell you were doing with, the Cloud Runner. You have five seconds to make your choice."

The predator mustered a grin underneath his mask. "You value the lives of your men?" He aimed his mask's chilling gaze at the admiral. "Funny how your dead can't support you."

Shepherd kept his composure, but the lion caught the flash of rage in his pupils as they constricted. Still, Shepherd said nothing. His response was composed of him slowly standing up, lifting his right hand, and sounding off a crisp snap from his fingers. With that the walls instantly pressed up against the hunter's body and he resumed hissing and yowling in torment from their energized beating as the heat intensified.

Shepherd watched for a moment before turning to walk away. The Lieutenant held fast for a moment longer, a look of slight confusion and anxiety hanging on his face. After a couple seconds he pivoted completely around and went to catch up with the Admiral.

The beast was beginning to succumb to the intense beating of his energy composed prison. Mustering all the strength and volume he had left, he bellowed out, "REAR SHIELD… NOW!"

Shepherd and the Lieutenant turned back towards the outburst.

The voice in the hunter's comm set responded in the snidest tone he could. "You're now ready for me to conduct my primary directive?"

The lion was beginning to fade from consciousness, but his fury at his assistant allowed him one more sentence. "YES… you…little…SHIT!"

Shepherd didn't know the exact meaning of the predator's words, be his demeanor dove into unease from realizing it wasn't anything good.

The voice responded pridefully at his successful irritation of the large cat. "Rear shields deactivating."

The rear shield disappeared and the hunter fell onto his back and his rifle on top of him. His body begged to stay there, every muscle pleaded not to tense for movement again, yet hardly a second after release the lion had rolled himself to a sitting position and started to stand up; he had learned to quickly ignore all pain from his body a long time ago. _You live for the hunt. _He reminded himself. _You live for nothing, but the hunt._

He rose to his feet and found great pleasure in the bewildered and distressed expressions of his quarry as they repetitively tried to use their wrist controls to regain control of the force field. "Trap the trappers."

Immediately the still standing shield took off towards the four IRT members and sent them flying back towards the intersecting hallways. Shepherd acted the second he saw the energized wall move by grabbing the scruff of his Lieutenant and diving out of the force field's path. The shield continued on, knocking the four defenseless soldiers caught in its charge back a few meters with each blow. Once they were ten meters down the passage, the shield dissolved and the set of motors that powered it slid down their rails one meter past the soldiers and came to a halt. The second set of motors had followed close behind and were already in position before the IRT could gather themselves. In a split second they both reactivated; trapping the four soldiers.

The Admiral had watched the whole thing with a wrathful horror he was struggling to contain. _This isn't possible… how the hell is he doing this?! _He turned to the hunter, whose menacing mask had already been locked on him. "You chose to save yourself and the life of your right hand officer."

Shepherd yelled at the beagle to shut down the ships power as he drew his plasma pistol, but before the Admiral could fire the predator ordered: "Lights out."

Instantaneously the ship went dark, and Shepherd's plasma blasts hit only the wall of the opposing side of the hallway. Somewhere currently unknown to Shepherd, he heard the beast continue with: "Now witness your consequence as four lives perish a miserable fate from which you freed yourself." Another order came, one that sent a chill up the Admiral's spine that he hadn't felt in years. "Execute them."

The walls closed their distance, and the screams of each of the four soldiers rang through all different passages of the ship. All Shepherd could now see was the blue glow lighting up the execution his men had been sentenced too. The sight distracted him a second too long as he felt a dense boot thrust into the middle of his back, sending him smashing into the ground.

Before he could push himself back up an arm had wrapped around his neck and lifted him to his knees. "Lieutenant! Shut… the power…!" The Admiral strained to choke out.

The lion spoke to him as he slowly tightened his hold on Admiral Shepherd, reducing his ability to breath. "Watch them die, accept the consequence of your action, and ask yourself, 'should I still be alive?'"

Shepherd found himself listening intently as his oxygen slowly continued to be deprived from him, undergoing the heart shattering view of his soldiers dying under his very orders. Once again he faced the struggle, once again he faced the haunting wish.

The beast didn't cease. "Those soldiers each had lives of their own, friends and family that they treasured dearly, How many more like them have died under your command, whilst you live on?"

Shepherd closed his eyes, making the decision that kept getting harder. "They knew what they signed up for." He reached up and went to grasp the hand of the hunter's choking arm. "They had their duties, and I have mine." He successfully pried it free enough to grip it entirely. "One of them being that I honor their death by either making it worth something." With a quick, decisive movement, the admiral wrapped his fingers around the pinkie of the beasts choking arm, and with a swift bending motion towards the outside of the lion's hand, he snapped the bone in two. "Or die trying!"

The predator hissed from the stinging agony. Shepherd took advantage of the moment the lion loosened his grip, spinning around to his back side so that he laid face to face with the hunter. He then trapped the beast's left arm and leg with his own, brought the lion crashing to its side, and rolled right on top of him; immediately raining down as many blows as he could to the mask of the executioner.

The predator attempted to shield his face from the strikes and grab one of Shepherd's fist, but Shepherd moved quick and instantly started landing punches into the stomach of the beast, maintaining the dominant position in brawl. The hunter fought past the pain and loss of his wind and began keeping better tabs of where the Admiral would hit next. Shepherd realized his blows were becoming less effective and began to reassess his strategy. The lion finally caught hold of both the Admiral's fists and they became locked in a stalemate. In the locked pause, Shepherd took in the sounds of the dying breaths of the IRT behind him. _They're still alive. _He remembered his pathetic right hand beagle. "Lieutenant, shut down the damn power!"

When no response came, Shepherd hopped to his feet, stood up, lifting his opponent up with him, and then brought the hunter slamming back down onto the metal floor. The predator's grip failed and the Admiral broke free. Immediately Shepherd searched out the beagle and found him standing exactly where he had left him. "LIEUTENANT!" The dog still didn't move. Shepherd wasted no more time and grabbed his own mic, attempting to contact the bridge himself. "Does anybody read me?! Somebody, cut the power to the whole damn cruiser!" He received no response. _Damn comms are out! _He quickly debated his next move, but his mind froze when his ears picked up the silence. Everything was quiet again, minus the crackling of the four corpses still making continuous contact with the two force fields.

Shepherd brought his attention to the grueling sound, fighting the wish to believe it wasn't real; fighting the fantasy that it wasn't too late. _They're dead Shepherd. _He told himself. _They died for their cause. _He looked back over at his Lieutenant standing in the now fading blue glow. Fury slowly boiled up inside the Admiral. "You _fucking_ coward." He growled slowly. "You could've done _something_!"

Shepherd lost his mentality as he moved to lay hands on the beagle's throat. "WHY the HELL did you just STAND THERE?!" In his blind anger, he had failed to pick up one detail about the Lieutenant. A detail that brought him to the ground with a hole burned into his lower abdomen.

The beagle slowly lowered the blaster in his right hand, with a small grin of successful deceit on his lips.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Never in his life had Fox hated feeling as much as he did now; standing underneath one of the three shower heads in the Great Fox II's shower room. The water ran through his fur, soothing his skin as it washed the dried blood from his coat, though he refused to enjoy its hydrating flow. He refused to flinch when the hot stream of water came in contact with the scars on his head, face, and chest, causing them to burn with an agonizing passion, as it cleansed the wounds from any contaminants that had already begun to infect them. He would feel none of it, reacting to pleasure and pain was a luxury he no longer deserved.

He hadn't even wanted the shower itself; it held absolutely no benefit for Krystal. Every second he stood in there was a second he could be using to prepare himself for his upcoming mission. Yet no matter what argument he gave, the team would hear none of it. Fox finally caved on the point that he owed it to them. If they were going to lay their necks on a stone slab by helping him break into the military planet that was known as Katina, one that they had sided with for their entire career with Star Fox, then he could at least set their minds at ease by taking a shower. For Fox however, the shower was far from easing.

His mind was racing along a mental track that ran in a repeating loop, his eyes intently watching the red liquid that streamed from his coat onto the tiled floor, tracing the grout gaps between the weathered white tiles until it found and began to pour into the drain. The sight shouted the same message as when he had seen Krystal's blood. _Here is the result of your choice! Here lies the consequence of your action! Here shouts the eternity of your punishment! _Fox's ears now rang; the volume of the haunting charges had reached an unbearable level. His sorrow for her fed into his rage at himself. Every muscle under his skin slowly began to tense as his emotions flared out of his control. _This blood is none other than your doing! This blood is on none other than YOUR HANDS! _

Fox snapped, his right fist bringing all his fury pounding into the tile wall of the shower. He retracted his arm and sent it rocketing back into the wall. Again he struck, and again, and again, and again. He began to switch between arms as he brought his left fist hammering into the wall after his right; a seventh hit, then an eighth, a ninth, a tenth. His blows increased in speed as they went; A sixteenth hit, a seventeenth, eighteenth, twenty-first, twenty second. Fox kept going until both his fists felt like they were shattered sacks of glass. With a final blow, Fox shouted as loud as his lungs would allow as he drove his fist into the cracked tile. He then turned off the shower water and ripped a towel off of its bar. "I'm done wasting time." He growled to himself.

….

Lucy had started toward the shower door the minute she heard the rapid pounding, but Falco held her back.

"Give him space." Said Falco, trying to sound comforting through his focused appearance.

Lucy offered no acts of disagreement but looked worryingly at the door. Fox's mind was very much a wild card at this point; she feared for his safety. It had been her idea for Falco and herself to standby outside in case Fox did something drastic, and though Falco had expressed annoyance, she could tell he felt the same when he didn't put up a fight or volunteer Slippy for it. She sensed that Falco was also recognizing the possibility of the worst, and he prided himself in being the most qualified to subdue Fox should the worst occur.

Then came the scream. She had heard Fox yell many times during the restoration of Venom, but this outcry silenced the rest. It burst through the Great Fox's walls as if they weren't even there, painfully falling upon their ears as if it were piercing them.

Before she could even look up at him, Falco had let her go and overrided the panel on the wall that opened the locked shower room door. He rushed inside and Lucy followed close behind, both found Fox violently drying himself off with a towel. Lucy had already attempted to prepare herself for seeing Fox in his undressed state and stay professional, though her attempt was in vain when a slight blush still presented itself through her fur. She was relieved that Falco wasn't paying any attention to her, and Fox wasn't showing any signs of even recognizing his naked presence. Once over herself, she felt even more relieved when she assessed Fox to be alright, until she laid eyes on his hands.

…

Fox had heard and ignored the door to the shower room opening as well as the two animals who rushed in. He continued to dry himself as quick as he could.

"We ask you to clean up, and you go and make more of a mess of yourself." Falco scolded.

Fox didn't even look at Falco. "I'm clean enough, there's better things to do during our transit." Fox threw his towel to the side and reached for his clothes.

Falco snatched Fox's wrist and drew it in so that Fox was forced to face him. Falco glanced at Fox's captured hand. "And what do you make of that?" He said as he looked back at Fox and raised his eyebrows.

Fox took a look and found his knuckles, his fingers and the back of his hand covered in blood that trailed down his forearm, seeping into Falco's own feathered hand that gripped his wrist. Irritation was added to Fox's temper as he ripped his hand away, grabbed his clothes, and proceeded to dress himself. "I'll wrap it up with what's in the first aid kit." _More damn time I have to spend doing something freaking useless!_

Falco sighed. "You're at least going to freaking eat." He turned and walked out of the room. "Slippy's waiting."

….

Lucy and Fox were now alone. Fox continued to dress himself whilst Lucy silently observed. She felt the urge to say something helpful, give some mediating advice to help Falco and him get along, but nothing suitable came to mind. She also felt the urge to leave; dressed only in his boxer briefs and slipping on his second black moisture wick sock, the decent thing to do would be to give him privacy until he was completely dressed. _But here's another chance to tell him. _She thought as her heart rate rose. _I wouldn't even have to say anything, I could simply… No. _Lucy turned and walked out of the room as quick as she could.

Her face burned red as she internally lectured herself for her rash thinking. _Now is not the time! _She continued to walk down the hallway, unsure of where she was even headed, at a pace faster than that of one jogging slowly.

…

Amanda sat, her rounded jaw resting on her fist, at a long steel table in the kitchen of the Great Fox II as she watched Slippy determinedly stirred away at some Gornt cubes he had cooking in a small pan on the kitchen stove. To Amanda, he seemed blissfully lost in his work as he juggled between agitating the meat and sifting through a variety of spices and sauces, looking for just the right ones to add quality flavor to the dish; it made her sick.

"How do you do it?" She asked.

Slippy answered but didn't take his eyes off his project. "Cooking is just something I've always enjoyed doing. Get involved in it enough, and you pick up enough tips and recipes to make anybody a decent chef. With Gornt for example, I tak-"

"Not the cooking you…" Amanda's agitation kindled as she cut him off, but she forced herself to swallow the rest of her sentence. _I love you, but sometimes… _"How do you go about things as if nothing is wrong in the universe?"

Slippy looked back at her and blinked blankly. "What do you mean, my lovely water lily?"

That did it. His stupidity had already lit the fire, but the buttered up title added the fuel. Amanda slapped the hand her jaw was resting on down on the table. "Allow me to spell it out for you! Krystal, our old and dearly treasured team mate has been shot down and captured. Our leader dove head first into _hell_ to save her, coming back empty and looking as if he had been to its deepest trenches! And responsible for it all is Andross jr., who plans to end everything by a means that we don't even know of yet; brutally _torturing, maiming_, and _using_ Krystal as leverage so Fox will-" Amanda fell silent. During her lecture, Slippy's face had slowly revealed the side it had brilliantly been hiding the entire time. He stood there staring towards the ground, more crestfallen than Amanda had ever seen him.

After a moment of silence, Slippy spoke. "It's… it's just another day in the life… right?"

Amanda opened her mouth to say something, but she caught herself upon noticing Slippy wasn't finished.

Slippy continued. "I mean… we've been down before. We almost lost Peppy twice, Falco abandoned us for a period of time, Fox himself has been hardly a centimeter from death more times than I can remember…" Slippy turned back to the Gornt filled pan and continued stirring as he talked. "But… we've never been out… we've always pulled through." He switched over to some broccoli he had boiling in a pot and removed it from the stove burner, pensively carrying it over to the sink to be drained of its water. "It's no different from now. It doesn't matter how dire, how gruesome, or how horrific the threat; we'll pull through." Slippy said, attempting a smile as he finished straining the pot and returned it to the stove top; turning off its assigned burner. "Fox and us will pull through… right?"

Amanda had gone from feeling angry to lost. She looked away and rested her forehead in one of her hands as she breathed a sigh. "He mutilated one of her arms, right in front of him. Death is bad, but that…" She paused, looking for the right words to finish her sentence; but they never came.

It was some time before she finally heard Slippy croak, "I'm just glad it wasn't you."

That stole every word, every thought, even her very breath away from her as a towering amount of guilt fell upon her. She looked over at Slippy and found him staring a hole into the floor. Amanda stood up and rushed right over to him. "Oh baby…" She cooed as she embraced him in her arms, _what a bitch I am… _"I'm so sorry…"

Tears began to escape Slippy's eyes as he returned her loving hug. "I can't imagine what he's going through… I _never _want to know…

"And you never will baby, I love you." Amanda said with all her passion, fighting hard to hold herself together.

Slippy tightened his arms around her as his saltine drops continued to roll down his smooth, green cheeks. "I love you too, so much."

They continued to hold each other until the smell of burning meat slithered into their noses.

"Gah! My Gornt cubes!" Slippy shrieked, nearly pushing Amanda over as he rushed to stir his burning meat. He almost ripped the burner heat nob off the stove when he switched it off to stop the Gornt from getting any crispier.

That's when Amanda heard the thump. She looked toward the sound to see what she assessed as Fox's limp body lying on its side on the kitchen floor by the entryway. "Fox!" She announced as she rushed over to him.

Slippy appeared by her side while she checked Fox's pulse and listened for his breathing.

Fear protruded from Slippy's eyes. "Is he-?"

"Of course he's still alive!" Amanda's statement was confident, but the relief in her voice showed that at first, she too had feared the same. "The poor thing is just exhausted…" Amanda observed that he had indeed showered due to his cleaner fur and change of clothes. Fox now wore a long sleeve jungle green tactical combat shirt with a vibrant red, two-decimeter thick line tracing from shoulder to shoulder over his chest and dividing his abdomen; with an identical pattern on his backside. Two shoulder pads of the same color were attached to the shirt, and over the shirt he wore a white, sleeveless down vest. Jungle green cargo pants displayed a white belt and blaster holster on his right leg along with two white kneepads. His boots were a lower cut version of what he usually wore. On his hands were a pair of white gloves with firm knuckles built in, and a white, flat neon green touch VDT that was secured on his left wrist; replacing his damaged headset.

Upon looking closer at the gloves, Amanda noticed a slight red stain around the knuckles. She gently pulled his right hand's glove off to expose a nearly blood soaked bandage wrapped around Fox's entire hand. "Oh Fox…" She said pityingly, "what have you done to yourself."

"He's probably starving, especially if he's lost _more_ blood!" Slippy added. "I'll grab some water."

"He can't drink right now!?" Amanda irritably exclaimed.

"Ice cold water!" Slippy explained as he made his way to the fridge.

"You aren't gonna..."

Upon his return, Slippy was carrying an entire pitcher of refrigerated water.

"Slippy!" Amanda scolded.

"He'd be angrier if we waited for him to wake, you know how much of a rush he's in."

Finding no further ways to argue, Amanda hesitantly looked back at Fox.

Slippy positioned the pitcher's spout about half a meter above his head. "Sorry Fox…" He said sincerely as he began pouring the chilling liquid on Fox's cheek, taking care not to pour it directly into his ears, eyes, or nose.

Moments later, Fox awoke with a start; spitting any water from his lips and shaking any from the fur on his head. Afterwards he just continued to lay on the ground, breathing deeply from the shock of the icy water.

Slippy knelt down beside his friend. "You scared us for a second their Fox."

Fox said nothing, just continued staring into the wall he faced; looking as he did when they had first brought him back.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Amanda asked, still staring at his bandaged hand.

Fox remained unresponsive.

Slippy gently grabbed Fox's chin and maneuvered it so that Fox's gaze faced his. This time Fox's eyes moved to meet Slippy's own pupils. Slippy spoke in a guiding manner hoping to finally get through to him. "We're gonna get you into a chair at the table and finally get some grub in your stomach. Think you can walk if we help you over there?"

Fox's eyes fell to the ground. Moments later, he found his voice. "I can manage _walking_ on my own." He said as he started to push himself off of the ground.

"Oh I say different!" Amanda objected, moving in to help Slippy support Fox's weight. "We don't need you falling over again." When she noticed that Fox was about to give a rebuttal, she added, "Neither does Krystal."

That shut him up. Fox reluctantly relaxed and allowed both Slippy and Amanda to help him over to a chair at the kitchen table. Once sitting, Fox rested both his elbows on the table and buried his head in his hands.

Slippy placed a hand on Fox's shoulder. "Now I'm gonna mix up your dinner and get you some energizer to drink, don't go anywhere on me." Fox gave no sign of response, but Slippy hadn't waited for one anyway. Amanda remained at Fox's side, pulling up a seat next to him and contemplating if there was anything she could do to help ease his anxiety and nearly unbearable guilt. She ventured to touch and slowly rub his back, but he seemed to tense up all the more as she rubbed.

"It's not your fault." She offered as a healing comment.

Amanda nearly jumped out of her skin as Fox instantaneously slammed both his fists down on the table, "Yes it is my fault! Every bit of her suffering is my fault!" Fox launched out of his chair, pointing at himself as he continued to lecture Amanda. "Everything I ever did put her in harm's way! Letting her join Star Fox led to her being in danger on our missions! Kicking her off led to her joining up with Star Wolf! Fighting that _bastard_ Panther led to her hurdling down to Venom! Now, when I actually had a chance to set things right and save her, I GOT HER ARM BLOWN OFF!"

Amanda jumped up and met Fox's wrath with as controlled of a demeanor as she could manage. "You know as well as we do that you were looking out for her safety."

It took everything Fox had to keep himself from flipping the table ahead of him. "Did you not hear me?! I said her ARM, is FUCKING, OBLITERATED! How the HELL did I PROTECT HER?!"

Amanda's calm failed her as her volume began to rise. "She made her own choices! She _chose_ to chase after you after you saved Dinosaur Planet! She _chose_ to join Star Wolf after you removed her from the team! And she _chose _to put herself between you and Panther in order to SAVE YOUR LIFE! She knows you care for her Fox; she still feels the same! She wouldn't have done what she did had she not!"

"CARES FOR ME?!" Fox lost control as he threw a rear-kick into the chair behind him and send it crashing into the wall about two and a half meters away. "I SHATTERED HER HEART! You weren't there that night in the alley! Her tears, _OH HER TEARS_!" Fox grasped his head, crumpling his ears as he fell to his knees and wept.

Amanda's voice caught in her throat. She had dealt with worse screaming duels in her life, but she had _never_ seen someone so mentally affected by their own history.

Fox quietly sobbed for a moment longer before adding. "I brought her tears then, and I've brought them _now_. I had broken her mentally, and now… I've broke her physically…"

Silence took control of the room as even a single breath could hardly be heard. Amanda was now at a loss for words. She still wanted to help, but after what just went down she was afraid of making things worse than she already had.

…

Slippy had stood by as the silent observer. It wasn't new to him for Fox to be so hard on himself, as well as how impossible it was to change that perception. If Fox was convinced he was in the wrong, he might as well have slaughtered an entire village of innocent kits. Slippy crept over to his wife and whispered to her, "Let me talk to him for a bit. I'm sure the others are on their way if they heard any of that. Would you keep them at bay while Fox and I chat?"

Amanda seemed nervous of leaving her husband alone with Fox, but she eventually gave a light smile. "All right honey." She kissed Slippy on the forehead. "I'll be right outside in case you need me."

With that Amanda stepped out of the kitchen and closed the door behind her. Slippy looked down at Fox, who was still weeping on the floor with his hands clamped tightly around his skull. Slippy made his way around to and knelt down in front of his childhood friend. Fox acknowledged Slippy's presence by releasing his own head and looking up at him. Slippy's heart broke a little at the sight of Fox's eyes. All hope was nearly gone from them; the only fire left was from a seemingly programed determination that only the ending of his life would extinguish.

Fox spoke. "I have to free her from this Slippy, I won't go on in life if I don't."

Slippy said nothing, just continued to look upon his friend with pity.

"I do not deserve a single breath until she is back with Star Wolf, back with… Panther…"

After a couple of seconds had gone by, Slippy gave a slight nod and patted Fox on the shoulder. "Well you can't go rescuing a damsel in distress with next to no energy. You need food Fox, so why don't you go retrieve your poor chair back there and grab yourself a spot at the table. I'll throw your plate together, you're gonna love it!"

Fox breathed a pathetic laugh as a smile crept onto his face. "Thanks Slippy." He said, another tear slipping down his cheek.

Slippy gave Fox a smile and another pat on the shoulder before hurrying back to his ingredients. "You're gonna get through this." He announced over his shoulder as he worked. He tossed the Gornt meat and broccoli on a plate together, mixed it up, then poured some tangy, store-bought sauce over it all. He then walked over and placed the plate and a fork he grabbed from one of the counter drawers in front of Fox, who had forced himself back into his place at the table. Slippy grabbed the spot Amanda originally was in.

Fox gave Slippy another word of thanks before picking up his eating utensil and going to take his first bite, however the end of the fork came to a halt right outside his mouth. Fox continued to hold it there, his face portraying the struggle he was facing to bring it the rest of the way. He finally surrendered as he lowered the utensil back onto the plate, screwing his eyes shut as his head fell and hung above his dish. "Why… was I such a coward? Why didn't I let her choose for herself when I had her?"

"Because you care for her and you wanted her safe-"

Fox took a breath to respond with, but Slippy jumped to it first. "REGARDLESS, of what ended up happening; your intentions were for her safety. Even if you had chosen to keep her with us, she very well could have been… you know… _hurt_, with us; with you. It's not really possible to see the future."

Fox still didn't look back up. "At least she would've been happy."

"We screw up sometimes." Slippy said, cracking a grin. "What matters is we do everything we can to redeem our mistakes. From what I can tell, you are doing just that! Minus one thing…"

Fox looked up at Slippy curiously, his eyes red and dry from the tears he had completely expended.

"Eat!" Slippy commanded.

Fox gave an embarrassed smile as he looked back down at his food. "I wish my stomach was more cooperative…"

"It's not your stomach Fox, it's your heart. For Krystal's sake, force it down; bite by bite. I think you'll find your stomach'll come to its senses."

Fox chuckled as he raised his fork and took his first bite. The food lit up his taste buds as the meat, though a bit overdone, squeezed out its juices from the pressure of Fox's teeth and mixed with the sweet, piquant sauce drizzled over it. Even the broccoli added its own wonderfully unique flavor. If only he didn't have that sickly feeling that continued to plague his emotions, this would've been a meal Fox would've thoroughly enjoyed. However, he did as his friend had told him and continued eating; bite by bite. Halfway through his dish, Fox paused again. "How do you do it?"

Slippy looked at Fox nervously curious. _Why do people keep asking me questions and expect me to know their subject?! _

Fox sensed his friend's confusion. "With Amanda… knowing each day that she could… die; by your side."

Slippy had to think for a moment before answering. "You know… it's… it's a partnership. She too faces the same thing. I very well could die by her side, has she left me?"

Fox's gut grew tight as he felt like puking and losing consciousness again.

Slippy caught Fox's expression and instantly wished he had said that better.

"I don't mean to guilt trip you with that, it isn't easy! It's just…" Slippy searched for the words to keep going, yet fell at a loss.

Instead, Fox took the floor. "I heard you talking with Amanda… I know it's not easy for you… but you still do it. Why couldn't I… have seen it how you do…?"

Slippy milled the question over in his mind. He had never really realized how inspirational his relationship with Amanda was. Now he had his close friend since they were younglings, sitting in front of him in pieces, wishing he had made the same choices as he had. _Till now I had actually been modeling the amount of passion you had for Krystal. _Slippy thought._ You treated her better than I've _ever_ seen any male treat his mate, until she got kicked off… But even then, you did it out of love… and ultimately it was a choice that destroyed you; it's still destroying you! _Slippy decided to revert back to the best way to handle Fox. _I can't make you forgive yourself, but I can assist you in redeeming yourself. _

"I'm not an all wise one," Slippy started out, "but I'm willing to bet that holding onto your past will not help you in saving her. You made bad choices, but the only way to get her back, to safety I mean, is to stop focusing on what you did, and stay focused on what you're going to do."

Fox looked down at his dish, as if to ask himself if facing his past was something he could actually do.

Upon seeing Fox's continued struggle, Slippy added, "Don't let her pain be what sinks you; let it be what fuels you! You may have put her there, but who _physically_ pulled that trigger?"

Slippy could hear Fox gritting his teeth behind his lips. "Dash." He whispered.

"And now, who is the one responsible for getting her out?"

Fox didn't answer this one, but for Slippy it wasn't needed. He dropped his tone to one that commanded a decision be made; whether verbally or mentally. "What are you gonna do?"

Fox looked up at Slippy with a savage determination. "I'm gonna do what I have to, to save her." The vicious blood lust returned in Fox's eyes, and Slippy could tell his teeth were grit behind the tensing skin over his mouth. "Then I'm gonna slaughter Andross' grandson."

…

Amanda had stood outside the door of the kitchen the entire time, waiting for either Fox or Slippy, or both, to emerge. As her husband had predicted, Falco showed up hardly twenty seconds after Fox's outburst; ready to bust a certain head. Amanda deeply savored the sweet taste of telling him to fly back to what he was previously doing, and that she and Slippy had it under control. Unable to cut her off like he did back when they were conversing over the comm lines, Falco was no match for her stubbornness and had to turn away grumbling, "Just wait till he goes for one of your throats, you'll come crying."

Amanda's blood boiled a little at that comment. _Why do you have to assume the worst with him, you arrogant-_

Finally the door slid open and Fox darted out, headed Lylat knew where. Amanda felt slight relief upon seeing a flame of hope and determination in his eyes. Her relief was mixed with confusion and slight worry when she switched eyes to her husband, who was now sitting with his head in one hand looking distressed. She walked into the kitchen and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Why the long face baby?"

Slippy breathed a sigh of defeat. "Why do I even try? I knew it wasn't a good idea to try, I just… thought I was doing great!"

Amanda gave his shoulder a positive shake. "Looks like you did great to me, he bolted outta here looking ready to save Krystal two times over!"

Slippy inhaled through his teeth as he sat up straight and looked at his wife. "Oh yeah, I got him hyped to save Krystal, as well as 'slaughter Andross' grandson'…"

Amanda slowly released her grip on Slippy's shoulder as she turned away from him and starred towards the doorway. "I don't blame him."

"You don't get it." Slippy stated. "I mean he legitimately wants to slaughter Dash. You didn't see the look in his eyes, the grit of his teeth, the snarl of his snout. He wants that ape's blood; bad!"

Amanda whirled around and faced her husband. Her growing sympathy for Fox pushing her towards a hostile defense. "And who can blame him?! You know what he did to her! Why wouldn't he?! Wouldn't you?!"

Slippy looked down at the grated floor. "I don't blame him, I-I wouldn't blame anyone, but this is Fox we're talking about; well hearted Fox. The Fox that always seeks the absolute best solution to every situation. If he succumbs to this world of madness he's been tossed into, who is he going to come out as?"

Amanda was caught without a reply.

Slippy looked up and met her face to face. "To murder Dash in cold blood, would be to murder himself as we know him."

…

_What are you thinking?! _Lucy lectured herself. _He's been beaten, captured, tortured, and threatened into a world of hell, and you're wanting to spark something up?! Stupid Lucy! Stupid, stupid, stupid! _Lucy finally pulled herself out of her head enough to see where her legs had taken her; the hallway that split the Great Fox II's hanger.

The passage stretched a good one hundred meters, matching the length of both bays, and every twenty-five meters were duly placed openings big enough to allow large crates and equipment to be passed over to the adjacent hanger. All of these openings had an emergency force field barricade in case the shields to each hanger spacecraft entrance were ever to go down. The walls to the hallway could also be drawn into the floor via the control panels in the bridge or a smaller panel in the hanger itself; this allowed larger items such as star fighters to pass between the bays. Feeling relief at seeing and hearing that it was completely empty, Lucy crossed over into the starboard side hanger and picked a spot on the outside wall of the hallway, slid to the floor, and hung her head between her knees.

_You aren't even on his mind right now, how could you be?! The real love of his life is the one that he's been threatened with, what kind of male would he be if he had anything but rescuing her on his mind?! Stupid! Stupid Lucy! _Then came the thought that always kept her hope burning, if only it didn't keep her confusion equally alive. _He's never kicked me off. He's looked out for me very closely and never put me in any danger greater than they each face individually, but he's also trusted me to look out for myself. _

She lifted her head up as her eyes danced around to different spots on the floor, as if her mind were spread out on the ground and she was skimming through its contents. _Could that trust be something he simply doesn't have for Krystal? One that he couldn't form? Does that mean… maybe… she was more of a burden to him? He could've loved her, at one point, but maybe upon discovering her inability to adequately protect herself, she became a liability to him? Just like every other civilian in this world? _

_Stupid Lucy! Stupid, stupid, stupid! He loves her! He's nearly gone insane over her brutal imprisonment. _Yet a certain word began to burn in her head that weakened the love factor. _Attachment. He tried to free himself of that responsibility, but his past love for her gave him an attachment that upon learning she had put herself back in danger by joining Star Wolf, he's automatically re-assumed his role as protector. _

_Maybe he wants to move on, that's why he's let me stay. It could be that he doesn't care for me, that my fate on this team doesn't matter as much to him as Krystal's did… But if that were true, then me being Peppy Hare's daughter would have still put enough weight on him to want to kick me off as well. He's not a coward though, he can accept the responsibility of a life; I'm the proof! But his attachment to Krystal is keeping him from moving on… _

The sound of approaching footsteps severed her from her thoughts. Lucy lightly hopped to her feet, pressed herself as close to the wall as she could, and listened. She heard the comer walk within a meter of the wall behind which she was hiding, but then the steps trailed off towards the port hanger. Curious to find out who it was, Lucy kneeled down, laid her ears flat along the back of her head, and peeked around the corner of one of the openings.

Keeping the starboard hanger reserved for their aircraft, the portside side bay was used for storage. The only cargo the team really had was food, hygiene, and medical crates; about a month's supply at a time. The team never purchased more in case they were ever to lose their mother ship, as they lost the first Great Fox. 'No sense in spending all our funds in a year's worth of supplies we could essentially lose anytime.' Was Fox's reckoning. They did invest in plenty of repair parts for the vital organs of the ship. 'Better to have those and not need them, than the latter.' Was Slippy's reckoning, which Fox and the team couldn't agree more. However, these took up a large amount of space in the port bay. Crates full of engine room parts, wiring and circuit boards, backup battery cells and generators, as well as stacks of panels and wire made of a strong metal alloy for emergency welding nearly covered the portside floor. At first Lucy had seen nothing but the cargo they stored in the opposing bay, but then Fox stepped into her sight. Lucy instantly ducked back behind the concealment of her wall, praying he hadn't seen her.

Upon hearing a crate being pried open and dug into, she crouched even lower, laid her ears back, and peered back out to observe. Out of a crate that kept him in her view, Fox had pulled about five food cans; pausing on the last can. He stared at it closely as his grip on it slowly tightened. His eyes screwed shut and his entire body began to tense and shiver. As quickly as it had begun, Fox shook himself of it and disappeared into the cargo.

Lucy rolled back into a sitting position and laid her head against the wall a bit harder than she meant to. "Ow…" She whispered as she brought her head forward and gently rubbed the back of it. _Love or attachment…? _She asked herself as she began to analyze what she'd seen. _Either way, he'd had a thought that brought him pain, immense pain… _Lucy recalled the veins she had noticed bulging through the skin and fur on his neck alongside the muscles that defined it. She felt a little foolish, but she couldn't help allowing sights like that to feed her attraction to him. The image of him standing in his boxer briefs flashed back in her head. She blushed and immediately tried to erase it, but it had already left its imprint. Her mind traced over Fox's lean, well defined body. Even in his usual clothing that he currently wore, certain routine movements he made gave hints of the muscles sculpted onto his frame. Fox was never a gym addict, from what she knew of him, but she did catch him indulging himself in calisthenics, running, and mission based training whenever time permitted, and everyone on Star Fox knew that he kept his eating habits as healthy as the team's budget would allow.

Lucy's ears picked up Fox walking back out of the collection of crates. She looked back around the corner in the same low to the ground way she had before and watched. Fox stepped out of sight for a moment, but came back carrying a fully automatic laser rifle. He made a few adjustments to the switches and bolts on the rifle, then entered a power cell. Lucy gazed admirably at him, aweing over his confident and knowledgeable actions. _You always look like such a soldier. _

Afterwards, Fox raised the blaster into a firm firing position and fired at the roof of the hanger. Lucy could tell by the sound the shot made upon contact that it was simply a stun blast. The team never trained using full powered laser shots while in the Great Fox. With that, Fox turned towards the city of cargo. His shoulders slowly lifted and fell as if he had taken a deep breath. Then he crouched and shouted, "Firing!" Before heading back into the crates.

Lucy fell back to her sitting position. _You are a soldier, just look at your sense of duty… _This was her biggest reason for her attraction towards him: the soldier in him. Fox himself refused to see it, he thought himself rather weak at times and never in his life claimed to be one of the best fighters known to the universe. Lucy wished he could see what she did. _You have bravery, you have mental strength, and you put them both into your determination! It's your greatest quality, but also your greatest weakness… You've created this allegiance to Krystal that you cannot break, you're determined to see her safety through to the end, even if it means trading the galaxy for her!_

The hope inside herself began to grow with excitement. _What if you were shown another way…? That someone else cares for you like she did, someone you can put trust in. Someone you could love without having to babysit. What choice would you make? _Lucy heard Fox curse himself at a poor shot he had taken. Pity mixed with her emotions. _What are you doing Fox? You're going to kill yourself over this…_

Her heart began to race with disbelief that she was actually considering telling him. _This is stupid Lucy! If you're wrong, you could lose any respect that he possibly has for you, he could begin to HATE you! The entire group would consider you crazy, self-absorbed, and selfish! You might just buy your own ticket back home teaching astrophysics again… _

Lucy shuttered at that thought. She had enjoyed teaching about the nature of the vast amounts stars and planets to the younger generations, watching their eyes light up daily at the glory they held; but nothing could compare to experiencing that glory in person. Being surrounded by the bright, vibrant colors and shapes of each individual piece of the galaxy was nothing short of a dream; a dream that she was able to live out through her career with Star Fox. It was an addiction, her first love. She couldn't go back to that university, not after what she'd gotten a taste of.

_But if I'm right… _her pulse grew faster. _Could I… Would he… bring an end to all this before it begins? _Lucy looked back around the corner, her ears focusing back on the blasts that Fox continued to emit from his rifle. _Could we actually… be together? _The sounds were slightly muffled through the blood that was now violently pumping through her ears. Her head spun as her wrists and chest began to noticeably beat through her skin. _I have to try… if there's any chance I have of saving him, I have to try! _

Her decision was made. She slowly rose to her feet, building the energy she needed to fight the tightness in her throat in order to announce a cease fire. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth.

"Entering the hanger!"

Lucy's eyes grew wide as her entire body stopped pulsing. She quickly slammed herself back against the wall she used as her concealment. Once she resumed breathing she crouched and peered back around into the passageway to see who had beat her to the announcement.

….

Falco casually walked down the hallway that split the Great Fox's hanger into two bays. He strolled down to the second set of openings and turned towards the one on the port side. "Entering the hanger!" He shouted as loud he could. Out of the maze of crates and materials stepped Fox, carrying a fully automatic laser rifle in a patrol ready position.

"How much time ya got left?" Falco asked as he came to a halt.

"Three hours, fifty-eight minutes." Fox answered without even checking the watch he had been given. Falco observed that the watch wasn't even on his wrist.

"And what are you up to right now?"

"Target practice and maneuvers. You need something?"

Falco shrugged in his care free manner. "Just checkin' up on ya."

"I'm fine. Now please either leave or stay right where you are so that you don't end up getting stunned." With that Fox turned and headed back into the cargo. He had sounded more earnest and stressed than irritated.

_Someone's pumped full of anxiety._ Falco thought with condolence as he followed after Fox."All these drills are gonna end up exhausting you before your actual task. You already need rest from what you previously went through."

Fox gave no response, he just continued through the vast setup of assorted crates; stopping at every cluster of two to three vegetable and/or soup cans he found on the floor to set them back on top of the metal box or boxes nearest to them.

_Yeah, that's what I'd say too. _Falco smirked, simultaneously assessing the cans to have come from the ship's kitchen or one of the food crates here in the bay. He searched for a new way to investigate Fox's head. "So… your watch, complements of Bowman?"

"It was on my wrist when I woke up." Fox said shortly. He had stopped at another couple of cans but only set one of them up on a crate, leaving the second standing up right on the ground as he continued on.

_Now you're starting to sound testy… _Falco thought, but decided to keep probing anyway."Woke up?" He nonchalantly asked. He caught Fox's muscles tense at his continued questioning.

"After Dash made his wishes clear to me, his crony put me under. Next thing I knew, I was laying on the ground nearby where I crashed my fighter, with this-" Fox turned back towards Falco and held up his right arm to display the watch, "on my wrist." With all the cans back in their intended place, Fox started to head back towards the perimeter of the 'cargo city'.

"Who's the crony, a surviving member of Dash's military?"

Fox stopped and closed as eyes as he breathed an irritated sigh. "It doesn't matter." He said sternly. He opened his eyes and resumed walking. "None of it matters." He added as his tone calmed.

Falco gave another collected shrug as he followed. "Sorry, just tryin' to get a background to your situation here. Look at the details and help you formulate a plan." By the time he finished both he and Fox were back where they started.

"My plan..." Fox slightly shuffled his feet in place, his back was still to Falco. "I've been thinking it through over and over ever since I woke up on Venom, and my task has been left as such a mystery that I have no idea who I'm meeting, where I'm meeting, where he or she will be taking me and what the heck it is I have to steal." Fox looked down at his weapon and began to check various settings on it. "My only guess is it's going to be something high tech, so it's most likely going to be locked away in a secure facility inside an already heavily guarded section of the base." Fox turned towards Falco, but his attention was directed towards different areas as he spoke his mind, as if visualizing his words. "Fly in? Better say a prayer before you challenge their countless surface to air defense systems." Fox removed his supporting hand from his rifle to accompany his speech with gestures. "On foot? Maybe, but I won't be able to sneak_ any_ weapons in there; they'll scan me head to toe. Even if I did make it all the way to the package without any trouble, there's absolutely no way I could get it out. Even if the item was small and concealable, the scanners would pick it up underneath my clothing; that's _if_ it wasn't rigged from the start with an alarm that will go off when touched. I guess I could try to steal a guard's weapon, fight past the rest of them as well as any sentry turrets, security fields, and Lylat knows what else; but I'm no special ops soldier. I know moderate level infantry tactics at best. I'll be going up against countless highly trained soldiers who run close range combat drills in their spare time."

Fox looked at Falco as a glint of hope appeared in his eyes. "The sewers were the second thing I considered. I've been having R.O.B. search the Cornerian data base for any structural information on Katina he can find." He nodded in the direction one would have to head to reach the Great Fox II's bridge.

Fox continued. "The few files he's found that would be of use are classified. Now granted he can covertly hack into them, I might just have a way; but only if time will allow. If my contact on the ground isn't willing to provide me an exact 'address'-" Fox performed the quotation symbols with the fingers on his free hand, "of where it is I need to go, then that plan is dead in the water. There'd be no time to cross reference the entire surface layout with the layout of the tunnels." Fox's gaze fell towards the ground. "If I made an error or a wrong turn, Krystal would be good as dead."

Fox looked back at Falco. "My _plan_, is to meet with this contact and hope to the powers above me that he or she has something in mind. Dash could hardly contain his excitement in telling me how he had it planned from the start to use me for this. He knows something, something that's going to allow me to get him that equipment."

Falco stared at Fox. "Take a moment and catch your breath." He teased.

Fox turned away from Falco and towards the community of steel boxes, lifting his rifle again to make sure it was loaded. Afterwards he slowly lowered it, and a few moments past in complete silence. Finally, he spoke again. "I have one shot to save her, Falco. I don't have time for a second chance. Corneria's gotten word of the uprising involving Venom and the rest of their response force is on its way. Bowman and his crony have plans to hold them off, but they can't hold out forever. Whatever path I take on Katina has to work, or she dies." With that, Fox tucked the weapon into his shoulder, kneeled to a low crouch position, and darted into the maze of crates. "Firing!" He shouted as he disappeared.

Falco directed his eyes to the floor. _And by death, you mean absolute mutilation. What the hell kind of universe is this? It's not just a good ol' shot to the head anymore. Either way, what we're about to do is absolutely insane! No one deserves to go out like that, but we're still talking one life versus trillions! But I'm probably blowing it out of the water, he'll just enslave us all once he's been named King of Lylat. _

Falco blew out a long, dramatic exhale while he commenced rubbing his cranium, continuing on his train of thought. Then with the slicking back of the feathers on his head he stated, "Hell, I guess we can try to take back what we stole after she's safe. If not, I've never had an issue with running from the law before."

"I'm going to kill him." Fox spoke with menacing sincerity as he came back out of his combat range.

Falco had nearly jumped. _Either you're fast, or I was in my head for longer than I thought. Deeper than I thought too… _He hadn't heard a single shot.

Fox was looking him dead in the eye. "I'll die with him if that's what it takes, but I will kill him."

Falco studied Fox closely. _Damn…_ The soul hungry tone of Fox's voice sent a chill up his spine. _You aren't lying. _

Before either of them could think any further, R.O.B.'s voice came over the ship's intercom. "STATUS REPORT, THE FILES HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY DOWNLOADED AND ARE READY FOR VIEW. WE ARE ALSO APPROACHING KATINA, ETA TEN MINUTES."

Fox unloaded the rifle, switched the safety back on, and set both the rifle and the cartridge down on one of the nearby crates. "Guess practice is over…" His voice became low and dismal, as if the weight of what was about to be attempted just hit him. Fox turned around and headed towards the hallway that would lead him to the bridge. "You coming?" He asked Falco over his shoulder.

Falco started off after him "You kidding? You ain't leaving me behind in this gray, dreary place."

…...

Lucy listened to the two sets of footsteps fade into the distance, leaving her in silence. She looked around at the gray, rusted steel walls that towered over her from all sides. _'You aren't leaving me alone in this gray, dreary place.' Darn it Falco, why'd you have to say that?!_ She replayed the whole conversation in her head, recalling the passion in Fox's voice when he spoke of Krystal. Her attention was drawn back to the walls. Their tall presence suddenly felt damning, as if they were burning her with a fiery stare.

_You are being so selfish! Why are you so concerned about where Fox's heart is when lives are at stake?! _The answer came instantly._ Because he could lose his life to this. If there's any chance I could talk him out of this madness… What if you're wrong Lucy? _Lucy sounded a frustrated grunt as she grabbed both her ears, one in each hand, and yanked them down the sides of her head. The pain felt nothing less than deserving; it ignited a headache that her indecisiveness fueled without sparing. She shut her eyes tightly and prayed. _What do I do? Am I just to sit back and wait this out? Let him go and hope he survives?! _Her hands dropped to her sides as her ears slowly rose to their natural position. She sat still for minutes on end until she reached a conclusion._ You'll wait. Maybe the task will provide him an answer so I won't have too. Katina's forces should only capture him at worst. _

She felt sick to her stomach at the thought of what that would result in. She knew Krystal only through short confrontations with her via Star Fox's interactions with Star Wolf, primarily during the Angler Blitz, but the fate that awaited the blue vixen was one that not even the darkest of souls deserved. The only thing that slightly eased Lucy's nausea was Falco's logic of trading one life for billions. _But what about Fox? Her death will kill him right alongside her, how much of himself would he lose? Could his mind be repaired from that burden? If I'm wrong, if he does truly love Krystal, he'd be lost forever. _Lucy stood up and began to make her way over to the large force field that separated the Great Fox hanger from the vacuum of space. _But if I'm right, we could pull him out of it. We could save him, and then I'd confess. _Her heart began racing along with the stars that appeared to dart away from the large vessel as it traveled to Katina. She felt she was diving into her own world of madness. _Am I hoping for a fantasy? Or could this be real? _Lucy closed her eyes and bowed her head. _I'll wait. One way or another his future will be set, and whichever way it heads will determine my chances. _

_What if he makes it? What if he obtains what he's after and escapes Katina? He'll go after her. He'll return to Venom where his chances of survival are even slimmer. _Lucy had every doubt in her mind that Dash would just let Fox and/or Krystal walk away. _Am I just going to let him walk to the guillotine without trying? Without saying a word? Would it matter if I did? Would I appear the selfish, coldhearted dunce? Or would I open his eyes to the chance of a life of freedom? A life where he no longer had to play protector? _Lucy gave a light, drawn out sigh. _It's a gamble Lucy, there's no denying it. Is the chance worth your position on this team and the respect you have from its members? _Lucy opened her eyes and looked back out towards the never ending amount of stars the Great Fox barreled past as it drew close to its destination. _It won't be long until I find out._

…

"These could work; I just wish we knew where you were going." Slippy said as he anxiously continued to scan the three dimensional map of Katina's sewer system layout over and over.

Fox turned away from the cylindrical holographic table the map was projected from, looking out the bridge's observation window toward the desert planet that was their destination; watching it increase in size as they drew closer. He began to feel his fear creep up his spine, stimulating every hair on his back to stand. Fortunately, through determination, he was able to keep his tail from fluffing. "We can't even land until I know where I'm supposed to meet my liaison."

Falco was leaning against the control panel that stretched out from the steel wall right underneath the glass of the observation window; hardly a couple meters from Fox. "You could always try the visitor center." He said with a cool smirk, arms folded, and eyes lazily shut; as if he were napping.

Fox showed no reaction to Falco's sarcasm. He only responded, "I might have to if no one contacts me soon."

Falco glanced at Fox, then shrugged as he looked over at the 3D map of Katina's sewer system.

Slippy and R.O.B. were continuously scanning over the hundreds of sections that could be accessed from inside any high security portion of the planet, then tracing the underground tunnels to any area that could be used as an extraction point. Slippy announced his next fact. "We'd also have to worry about flooding. Nearly half of these tunnels are going to be filled with water, which is going to make an escape even more difficult..."

"And a dead end would be a dead end in more ways than one…" Fox mumbled. His fear spiked; causing his pupils to dilate as the fur all over his body rippled from the chilling wave that swept through his body. He could come up with all the plans and alternative options that the mind could comprehend. He could gear up with the best uniform, weapons, and gadgets ever designed. He could train till he dropped, educating himself in every area of combat that would prove useful; but none of it would matter if the mission were to end in failure. _Krystal would suffer… suffer slowly until her body shut down from the unbearable torment, torment that I brought upon her! _Fox tensed, which brought back a sudden soreness in his lower left jaw. He lifted his left hand to it and slowly massaged it. Fox had felt it before while he was eating Slippy's dish; the chewing was what first brought his attention to the stressed area. _Probably from one of the blows I took from that bounty hunter…_

"But where there's a problem," Slippy continued. "There's a solution. It's still sketchy, this whole operation is! But if we were to find you a good tunnel to slip into, and if we could find an entry point to that same tunnel from an isolated location, we could use Amanda's Tadpole to retrieve you!"

Fox ran it through his mind. Just like every other idea, it had the potential to succeed, but it had the same potential to fail. There was no sure fire way through this. All Fox could do was choose, dive in head first, and pray that he would surface. _Please… _He internally begged. _Please, for her sake, let me fix this. You've taken both my parents away from me, please don't take her! It's my fault she's there! You can have me once she's safe, but let me end her pain! _Rarely in his life had Fox turned to prayer. His life had taught him that when bad things happen, you can either sit, wait, and pray for something that may not deliver, or you can adapt to your struggles and keep moving. However, when prayer was the only thing left to do, even Fox would fall on his knees and beg for the allegiance of the powers above him.

Falco groaned lightly as he stood up and let his arms fall to his sides. "How long exactly are you going to wait for this guy?"

Fox's gaze fell to the floor as he closed his eyes. "I don't know… let's go ahead and make contact with Katina security and ask for permission to land."

Falco looked at Fox with a bored expression. "And what reason for our visit are we going to give them that you expect to be believed?"

Fox looked back towards the planet. "That we're headed to the freaking visitor center." He said expressionless.

Falco chuckled as he leaned back up against the control panel, grasping the edge to both sides of him with his hands for extra support. "This will be interesting."

"SHALL I MAKE CONTACT?" R.O.B inquired.

Fox sighed through his nose. "Go ahead."

Everyone fell silent while R.O.B. began to input the commands into the keypad embedded in the holographic table to send a call out to Katina. The 3D map of the sewer lines disintegrated and was replace by a model of Katina. The model had a one-meter radius and a flashing red dot marked and displayed the exact location the team was reaching out to. The table sounded a light, repeating beeping noise that indicated that connection had not yet been made. Around seven seconds passed before the planet switched out with the upper portion of a uniformed black bear that looked as if he snacked at his work station all day and only stood up to relieve himself or go home. "Identify yourself." The bear ordered.

Fox turned around and faced the hologram. "This is Fox McCloud, leader of Star Fox."

The bear shifted his eyes toward something ground-ward; pecking could be heard as if he were typing away at a keyboard. "I have you here McCloud, state your business."

"Requesting permission to… dock." _Gosh, what the heck _am I_ gonna say?_

"I'm going to need a where and why."

Fox could tell the bear was easily getting agitated. Fox blanked, giving a quick glance at Falco who just mouthed, 'visitor center' with a wide, teasing grin. _C'mon Fox, think of something! _Fox drew a quick inhale. "We're headed to one of your main docks to-"

"Wait, wait!" The bear exclaimed. "I apologize for missing this before, but your identification has a notification uploaded to it that has orders for you… to head to the main intelligence headquarters in the thirty second quadrant of Katina. It says you are to dock at that exact harbor and… await security to board and search out your vessel for any active threats. Uhhh… once you're cleared, you and a Slippy Toad will be escorted through the security gate that surrounds the headquarters and lead to the entrance where you will rendezvous with a Captain Dalles. He will inform you further from there... Any questions?"

Relief gave Fox his breath, put panic stole it right back. On one side he sent up a thank you for the first part of his prayer being answered, but on the other side he was gravely alarmed that not only was his presence requested, but Slippy's as well. The mission had just become more complicated. Fox now had to worry about getting his best friend out alive along with himself. _Damn it Dash! _He fought hard to keep himself composed. _How dare you go and drag one more member of my family into this! _Fox looked over at Slippy who appeared just as flabbergasted.

"Hello?" The bear asked irritably.

Fox pipped up. "No. No, we… we understand. We're on our way to the thirty second quadrant. Have a great rest of your day."

"Thank you." The bear said, his voice making it all too obvious of his relief to finally be off the call. He faded from the table, and the blue lighting fell dark.

Falco was the first to speak. "How the hell does a blob like that keep his position in the military?" His face looked as if he were actually giving the matter a little thought as he continued to stare at the holographic table where the bear once had been.

Fox nor Slippy even heard him. The two simply locked their deeply surprised eyes.

_This isn't happening… _Fox thought as he intensely analyzed what he was just told over and over in his head.

"Well," Slippy said with a nervous smile, breaking the momentary silence. "I guess I've always wanted to see the inside of the universe's intelligence capitol…"


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Time slowed as the lion watched the searing laser-shot burn into the admiral's lower core; a very familiar pain beginning to flare in his own abdomen. A second ghostly shot filled his ears and sent him hurdling into another memory; right as the admiral fell to his knees.

He stood in front of the left-side door to a JMR (Joint Multi Role) aircraft: a helicopter built for troop transportation and aerial assault, with aerodynamics smooth as a bullet. The bird featured dual coaxial main rotors while the rear held two ducted fans that provided increased propulsion to the aircraft; as well as a large ramp that allowed for vast and fast troop deployment and extraction.

A dome helmeted Rottweiler in a grey flight suit had offered his hand from the port-side doorway of the helicopter; as the lion took it, he also took the blast. The betrayal had been all too similar to what was underway on the battleship Charlie-eighteen. The canine had assisted him into the aircraft and stepped to the side as a second air crewmale, an Alaskan Husky who had stood a couple meters away from the opening, pulled the trigger of his laser pistol before the hunter's eyes could adjust to the dark interior of the aircraft. The beast dropped his rifle and grasped his wound as he felt the hands of the Rottweiler, placed on his chest and left shoulder, push him towards the back of the helicopter while the dog's leg swept under his own, placing the predator flat on his back. The lion lay dazed and beyond disbelief, yet he knew exactly what was happening. The mission had gone south, and now he was being restrained and retrieved.

Upon receiving word that their hacker assets had silenced all the outer alarms, Guardian ten had kicked off the mission by taking out the gate guards of the perimeter wall and at least two pairs of guards loitering in the courtyard; whilst the hunter, Guardian five, cleared out the guards on his end. All shots were muffled by barrel silencers and low powered blasts, allowing the bodies to drop dead before the surrounding guards and workers could piece together what was going on. The Guardians were trained to always hit unarmored, lethal areas when set to said power output levels.

Once all guards had dropped, five urban dressed animals, consisting of a White Tailed Eagle, a Desert Ram, a Brown Poodle, a Chihuahua, and an Irish Setter, individually appeared from different alley ways between surrounding buildings and congregated on the door; this was team Hotel. Each member carried one black duffel bag. Once lined up at the gate, the team set their bags on the ground and drew disassembled blaster rifles from them; Hotel had them combat ready in ten seconds. Upon confirmation that the team was ready for infil, the two towering doors opened up into the courtyard; courtesy of the hacker assets they had stationed in a hover-van hardly two kilometers from the target compound.

Guardian ten kept Guardian five well updated on the activity from her end. The team filed inside the courtyard, keeping their weapons trained on any moving workers and ordering them to drop to the ground. The doors closed back up as Hotel quickly crossed the courtyard and took cover behind various shipping crates near the building entrance upon receiving word that more guards were on the way out. Two lines of laser sprays poured from the building's second floor through its windows followed shortly after by another pair of blasts from the first floor.

Guardian five took out the two attackers on the second floor whilst Hotel tossed three electrifying grenades into the first floor through the shattered glass. Once they went off, the infil team proceeded into the building; reporting two more guards KIA. From there the Guardians could only sit and wait, listening to the status reports of Hotel as they proceeded.

The objective of these planetary operations were to exploit and disable organized crime rings and militia groups. Most of these operations were done in secret due to location. When the headquarters of these illegal groups were located in the mist of large populated areas, it was in the Cornerian government's best interest to take it down without alerting the surrounding civilians; especially when the headquarters was located on Corneria itself.

The mission went smoothly for the first five floors. The list of enemy KIA slowly climbed as the team continued to search for their primary target, a black rat named Hisoka Geming: leader of a weapons and explosives smuggling ring that had been hacking into various Cornerian military intelligence databases in order to steal information on atmosphere patrols, planetary defense measures, and government shipments of high cost items; including nuclear arsenals. Any information beyond that on the ring and its leader had a higher classification level and only to be seen by Cornerian Intelligence.

As Hotel transitioned to the sixth floor, Guardian five observed a figure standing at the south edge of the top of the target building. He lifted his rifle as he transitioned into a kneeling position, bringing the scope back to his eye to identify the figure. It was Geming.

Guardian five instantly hopped on the comm line. "Be advised, we've got our HVT (high value target) on the roof of the target building."

Hotel team took no time to respond. The male voice of the Setter answered, "Roger Guardian five. Do not shoot, we need him alive! All right Hotel, let's make a hustle to the stairs. Keep your guard up. For Lylat's sake, _do not_ get sloppy!"

"What the hell is he doing up there…?" Guardian ten thought aloud over the comm.

Guardian five kept his rifle trained on Geming, who continued to stand at the building's edge. Clothed in black dress shoes, tan cargo pants, and a short sleeve jade green button up shirt, his only clothing piece that gave away his position of authority was a red beret he wore lazily on his head. Off in the distance Guardian five could hear the whirring of an approaching helicopter. His eyes shifted from his scope toward the sound and saw an unidentified private helicopter headed toward the HVT. "We've got one helo possibly headed to the roof of the target building."

The Setter responded, but not with what Guardian five was expecting. "This place is lined with bombs! The elevator shafts are full of them!"

Shock struck Guardian five at the report.

Guardian ten took communications. "Get out of there Hotel, repel from the nearest windows you can find!"

Upon regaining control of himself, Guardian five switched his eyes back to the HVT. An ice cold chill ran down the Guardian five's spine; Hisoka Geming was looking right at him.

A dark, scratchy voice came over the comm line. "Every one of you is right where I want you." The approaching helicopter slowed to a hover right in front of Geming, blocking him from Guardian five's sight. Geming continued, "We will be meeting very soon, Guardians."

As the helicopter pulled away, Geming was gone. Guardian five was quick to give a status report. "Geming is escaping in a private heli, orders?!"

A female voice from the hacker assets answered. "Don't shoot, the crash could harm civilians and then this whole operation would be…"

The voice was drowned out by what came next. A loud explosion sounded off from the target building, and every window that scaled its sides shattered, the steel shredded, and the building collapsed as if it was sinking into the ground. A thick cloud of dust began to build at the building's foundation before spreading like a wave into the surrounding area. Guardian five hopped to his feet as a horrific thought came to his mind. He got back on the comm line. "Guardian ten, what's your status?!" _Please be alright. Please… _

Guardian ten's voice was filled with urgency. "There right behind-… GAAAAH!"

The chill in his spine proceeded to enwrapped his entire body. _Lylat, no! _Suddenly the door that he had come out of swung open and he saw a security guard, wearing an identical uniform to the one's in Hisoka's compound, standing in its opening. Before any action could be taken, the dust cloud swept over Guardian five and nearly knocked him over, blocking him from the guard's sight. He took advantage of the moment and dived behind an air conditioning unit for cover. He yelled into his comm mic as loud as he could. "This is Guardian five, I need extraction for both me and Guardian ten! We're under attack!"

The female from the hacker unit responded. "Roger Guardian five, a helo is on its way. ETA sixty seconds."

_Looks like I'm holding out until then. _Guardian five thought to himself as he lowered the power output level of his rifle even further to allow for more rapid, controlled shots. _Too easy right, you can only see two meters in front of you. _He thought about just jumping off the roof and heading over to Guardian ten's location himself, if only he wasn't seven stories up and she wasn't nearly two kilometers away. _Hang on Angel, I'll be on my way soon. _He quickly began to take his over shirt off, exposing a green t-shirt, as he did a mental inventory of all the equipment he had strapped to himself underneath. _Hand blaster, two ballistic knives, thirty shock pellet grenades. _He reached into a pouch that was attached to the strap that hugged his core, pulling out around ten of the pellet grenades. He gave them a quick spread across the roof surface toward where he assessed the guards were moving in, watching for their explosion as he flipped his scope to the side of his rifle. As soon as they went off, he saw five widespread bodies get encased in electricity. He quickly trained his rifle on the one farthest to his right, then took them out one by one till there were no more to the left. Guardian five then redrew into his cover and waited for retaliation fire. None came. _That's either a good sign or a really, really bad one. _

He remained behind the metal unit and listened as closely as he could over the sound of the debris wave for footsteps or equipment being tampered with. _C'mon, where's that damn he- _His ears picked up sound of a boot tripping over an electrical pipe that ran to the air conditioning unit. He threw five more of his shock pellets in the sound's direction and fired at the target they lit up. As soon as the body dropped, Guardian five dove left out of his cover and began to crawl across the roof top. As soon as he was at least four meters from the unit, he stopped and waited. As the whistle of the dust wave began to fade Guardian five could hear the sound of helicopter blades heading towards him. _Not long now. _As he watched, he saw another guard come into view directly ahead of him, crawling toward the unit. By the time the guard saw the Guardian, a shot had burned right into his head.

The chopper approached the roof and began to blow the dust away and expose the surrounding area. All guards had been KIA. Guardian five got to his feet and headed straight to his extraction, making sure to retrieve his over shirt so as not to leave any hard evidence. A young Rottweiler opened the bird's port side door and offered out his hand. "That's quite a body count!"

Guardian five reached to take his hand. "We need to head north two klicks to extract Guardian ten, ASAP!"

"I wouldn't worry about her…" The dog replied grimly.

Before Guardian five could question the air crewmale further, he was pulled into the aircraft and shot in his lower abdomen by the second crewmale. Before pushing him to the ground, the Rottweiler unsheathed the Guardian's pistol.

The Rottweiler then turned on the husky. "What the hell are you thinking?! You were supposed to stun him!"

"I… I thought-thought it was set-" The husky fought hard to get his sentence out.

"Well get the fuck over there and get him sedated!" The Rottweiler barked as he shoved the husky toward the Guardian and turned to close the side-door.

Guardian five thought fast, reaching for one of his ballistic knives attached to his left shoulder strap. Ripping it off, he aimed it straight at the husky who was just looking up from adjusting his fire selector. The Guardian released the blade and sent it right into the husky's forehead. The Rottweiler turned toward him as he heard the body crumple to the floor and was met by two-hundred-thirty pounds of muscle plowing into him. Guardian five smashed the dog up against the front wall of the JMR troop and cargo hold. He then grabbed the crewmale's flight suit collar and dragged him to the rear ramp controls, hitting the button to open the ramp. As it slowly lowered he yanked the stunned Rottweiler back up to face level; the Guardian's eyes were full of ferocity. "I will not murder one of my partners by leaving them behind. If that's your intention, you and the rest of this damn government can go to HELL!"

The crewmale spit in Guardian five's face in response and began struggling to get free. Without as much as flinching from the slimy assault, the Guardian drove a fist right into the dog's stomach, then smashed his head against the wall next to the ramp's control panel; letting the Rottweiler's barely conscious body crumple to the ground. Guardian five then looked out the rear of the aircraft and saw that they had just began to take off from the extraction point. _We can't be more than ten meters up from these roofs… If I time this right, the jump will be survivable. _He looked again at the Rottweiler. _For me. _Before they could get any further away, the Guardian got a firm grip on his captive and sprinted out and off the JMR rear ramp. Once airborne, he pulled the dog's body directly in front of his own to use as a landing cushion. His aim was good, and the force of the impact knocked him right out of his flashback. The lion's eyes cleared, and saw Admiral Shepherd on his knees, bent over from his wound; from deceit. 

The lieutenant put away the laser pistol he had used to take the shot, as he looked at Shepherd with a dominant pride.

Shepherd had a hand on his wound and one on the floor, trying to keep himself from falling to his side. He looked back up at the lieutenant with an intent to kill, yet his question was simple. "Why?!" He uttered in a low, deep growl.

The beast interjected. "He's not the only one who's going to stand against his government this day."

Shepherd shifted his murderous, teeth bared glare over to the predator.

The lion stood his ground, unphased. "On your feet."

"Why not just kill me?!" The admiral asked spitefully.

"On, your, feet." The beast repeated.

Keeping his eyes locked on the predator, Shepherd drew his lips together before painfully rolling from his forefoot to his heels so that his knees lifted from the floor and his feet were planted flat on the ground underneath him, then he struggled to stand up as he fought past the fiery sting of his wound.

The lion held the stare. "I take life when ordered to, in self-defense, or to complete an objective." He tossed the admiral a set of solid gel cuffs with a flat, round, metal circle that contained the figure eight intersection of the gel wire. "You control whether or not you put yourself under either of my last two reasons."

Shepherd gave no acknowledgement, but by judging his character the lion didn't need it. The admiral understood, but that didn't make him any less of a wild card. Shepherd looked down at the cuffs and started to slip his right hand through one of the loops.

"Behind your back." The beast ordered.

Shepherd eyes looked back up at the lion, his expression unchanged, before turning around and slipping both his hands through the gel loops. Once each cuff was around his wrist, the loops tightened by reeling the excess wire into the circle that divided the two cuffs. Shepherd faced and returned his glare to the predator.

The predator stared back, unaffected. "I advise you _not _to try and break out of those." Once the lion saw Shepherds responseless understanding, he walked over toward where his sniper rifle lay from when he was trapped between the two shields. He knelt down and picked up the rifle, giving it a quick inspection. _Still so strong, so resilient. _He thought, pleased to see the rifle had taken no discernable damage. Once finished, he stood up, carrying his rifle in a patrol ready position, and looked over at the lieutenant. "Lead the way."

….

The arrival to Katina had gone as smooth as Fox could hope for. Star Fox traveled down into the planet's atmosphere toward the thirty second quadrant until they arrived at the harbor containing their assigned bay. The harbor easily reached a thousand meters into the sky, held floor measurements of around a hundred square meters, and was surrounded by identical hangers as well as facilities, compounds, and other structures; all varying in shape and size. The area looked as dense and widespread as one of Corneria's capital cities. R.O.B aligned the Great Fox II along its bay in the harbor wall and waited for the magnetic technology to pull the vessel in so he could gently land the Great Fox on the bay floor. Once in place, R.O.B entered the command to extend the Great Fox's hanger bay ramps out to the ground.

Fox, Lucy, Amanda, and Slippy were met by a security officer, a female Cocker Spaniel, and two additional armed male dog security guards at the foot of the ramp. The female guard stood straight with an imperious manner as she announced, "Welcome to Katina, we will be your escorts to your destination. Prior to our departure, we will need to check your vessel for security violations. I'm sure this has already been explained to you?"

Fox nodded. "Yes." _Whatever it takes to get a move on…_

"Then standby and my guards will make this as quick as possible." With that, the spaniel gestured to her guards to begin the walkthrough of the Great Fox; searching it for stowaways and any out-of-the-ordinary equipment, firearms, and explosives. While the search was underway, Slippy took time to calm and assure the currently worrisome Amanda that he would be coming right back. Fox hadn't been the only one to stress over the news that Slippy was ordered to accompany him. The previously caring Amanda, for Fox and his situation, had instantly turned on him upon hearing what Katina's atmospheric security officer had informed the team.

"I don't care what the orders are, he's not coming with you! You aren't dragging him into this!" She had snapped at him.

Fox hadn't put up even the slightest fight. "You're right, he's… he's not going to be put at risk for my mistakes." _Just… what happens if Dash doesn't like that he's not with me? What happens to Krystal?!_

Slippy jumped in. "Honey, I'm not letting him go in alone! If they are giving me permission to accompany-"

Amanda cut him off. "I don't want to hear it Slippy, he doesn't need you! He will figure it out on his own!" She glared over at Fox. "You will figure it out on your own."

Fox felt more guilt than fear from her, and simply nodded as he looked down toward the ground. _I'm sorry Krystal…_

For one of the rare times in his life, Slippy snapped. He hopped on top of the holographic table to gain a height advantage on his wife, and spoke with an attention grabbing sternness. "My dear water lily, I've tolerated your controlling temper nearly our whole marriage, and will continue to tolerate it, but not today! Today, I am going with my friend into that headquarters! That's not his decision, that's not Dash's decision, that is _my_ decision!"

Amanda filled with rage at her husband's defiance and appeared to make an attempt to retaliate, but after a few seconds of silence, she simply fell to tears and ran down the stairs leading away from the bridge.

Slippy went to chase after her.

"Slippy!" Fox called.

Slippy stopped and looked back at Fox.

"Stay here with her. I'm the one who put Krystal there, I'm the one who's getting her out. If this put you in your grave…"

Slippy smiled at Fox like he was acting ridiculous. "You aren't getting rid of me, besides, I just stood up to my wife! There's no turning back now…"

Fox didn't return the humor. "That wasn't an offer Slippy; that was an order."

"Can't you see? I'm not following orders today, captain." Slippy added as he continued on towards wherever Amanda ran off to.

_So here we are… _Fox presently thought as he watched Slippy comfort Amanda on the bay floor, fearing for what the future held. Suddenly the soreness in his jaw spiked to a sting. Fox pressed his palm into the area as he turned away from Slippy and Amanda's sight, voicing a short moan of discomfort. _I don't remember blows hurting this bad, could he have fractured something?_ Fox massaged the area, trying to feel for anything abnormal. _Doesn't even feel swollen… _He noticed the pain coming from inside his mouth as well, right in the same spot. The sting slowly subsided, and Fox observed Lucy slowly approaching him with her arms folded nervously.

"Everything okay Fox?" She asked in her usual caring way.

Fox nodded, dropping his hand from his jaw. "Nothing that can't be ignored."

Lucy gave a soft smile and looked down toward the ground. "You uh…," She looked back up at him, her smile turning slightly adventurous. "You ready for all this?"

Fox looked off toward a steel roadway that ran through the interior of each harbor floor, in between all the bays, allowing for hovercraft transportation to pick-up or drop-off any loading or offloading personnel or cargo. He eyed a specific white hover-van that was stationed right outside their own bay. "I have to be."

He felt a slight jab at his left arm followed by Lucy's playful tone. "Common, you gotta be more positive than that."

Fox knew she was just trying to lighten the mood, but few knew how impossible that was for him in times like these. Fox simply looked down and replied. "Were it so easy."

Before Lucy could say anything further, the security officers exited the Great Fox and gave the all clear.

"All right," The female security officer barked out, "Fox McCloud and Slippy Toad, come with me. The rest of you are free to move around as you please as long as you stay out of marked unauthorized areas. Let's go."

Fox looked back at Lucy. "Remember the plan." He said with a quick nod at her before following their escort.

"Fox."

He turned back toward Lucy to see her walk toward him with haste; quickly embracing him in a tight hug once she reached him.

"I don't know what's going to happen, but thank you for everything. Accepting me, training me, and always doing your best to protect me." She whispered to him as she rested her chin on his left shoulder.

Fox was taken back. He always had difficulty taking complements or appreciation, and those words echoed from the voice of another. "You belong with Star Fox even more so than I do." Was his distant reply as he returned her embrace.

"No, Star Fox won't exist if you don't return." Lucy let him go when she felt him release her, looking up into his eyes as they parted. "Please come back."

Fox forced a smile for her as he started walking toward the Cocker Spaniel. "I promise to give it my all." His eyes shifted and caught sight of Slippy giving a final kiss to his still hesitant wife before joining Fox at his side.

"All right, here we go Fox!" Slippy announced, sounding as enthusiastic as he usually tried to be.

Fox could hardly even muster up a smile for his childhood friend. "I've gotta admit: for Krystal's sake, I'm glad you're coming."

Slippy grinned. "Of course, I'm always up to help save a damsel in distress!"

Fox glanced over at him, "For yours and mine sake however, you'd better freakin come back."

Slippy didn't even seem phased. "We've got this."

Fox looked back ahead. _We'd better…_

Upon being led to the white hover-van Fox had observed, he and Slippy got in opposing sides of the vehicle's mid-section seating while the Cocker Spaniel got in the front passenger seat. The driver was a shaved, English Sheepdog who didn't acknowledge either of them, but only released the vehicles parking lock and pulled back on its joystick in between the driver and passenger seat to get the hover-van moving forward toward their destination. The sheepdog drove the car up to a large steel door that eventually split open to reveal a large elevator for ascending and descending vehicles. The sheepdog proceeded to pull into the vast steel box and parked in an open, marked spot. The elevator took them to the ground level where the hover-van exited the harbor and began navigating the streets that carved through all the other harbors and structures that filled the surrounding area.

Fox had been taking in every detail of their route as he possibly could in case his sewer escape was to fall through; yet the more he took in, the more hopeless he felt. Like Venom, he had only flown above Katina's surface a handful of times. _Please let those sewers work! _

They reached the outskirts of the city within ten minutes. Fox checked the time on his VDT; he had started a timer with the identical amount of time left on his watch so that he didn't have to wear two wrist devices, though he still kept the watch in an inner pocket on his down vest. _Three hours, five minutes. Two hours until I need to be out of here with the cargo… _The time seemed enough, but Fox was terrified of its mysterious habit of ticking away before one's very eyes.

Once out of the city, Katina was dominated by dry savanna to both sides of road, interrupted by a lone compound every few hundred kilometers. The more their time in the hover-van increased, the more Fox had to check himself from either tapping his foot, fiddling with his hands, or gritting his teeth behind his lips. Lucy's words of thanks kept running through his head, but the haunting voice that spoke them still didn't belong to her. The words repeated and repeated until it sounded as if the speaker were whispering right into his ear. '_Thank you for everything. Accepting me… always doing your best to protect me.' _Fox closed his eyes, watching the images of the suffering he had witnessed, and imagining the suffering that threatened to come. _I never deserved you… I am so… so sorry, Krystal…_

….

As much as Shepherd wanted to attribute his pounding heart to rage, he knew too well he'd only be fooling himself; he was afraid. Not of the intruder that trailed three meters behind him, keeping close watch over him in case he decided to run. Not of death, something he had face many times and learned to place in the back of his mind. Neither of these affected him in the least; Shepherd feared his soldiers.

He watched the lieutenant he followed behind, leading him down the halls that were once his domain. _Who else under my command wouldn't hesitate to aim a blaster at me and pull the trigger? How long have I been leading animals that were eagerly waiting for this day to come?_

Regardless of his inner turmoil, Shepherd kept his expression cold and concealed. They would not see his weakness; the intruder had already come too close to exploiting one of them. The sight of the CSC IRT between the two force fields burned in Shepherd's head. _Enough! _His conscience shouted as he erased the thought. _You will not weaken yourself grieving for something you cannot change! _

The trio reached the elevator that would take them up to the bridge. A pair of convex steel doors separated to reveal a cylindrical, white lit room large enough to contain four tall beings.

"Admiral, face me." Shepherd heard the intruder command as the lieutenant stepped in and to the side of the elevator.

_Admiral. _Shepherd mentally laughed at the word as he did as the intruder commanded, only to be met with a power frontward kick right to his blast wound. All the pain Shepherd had managed to put in the back of his mind came flooding back with a fiery vengeance. He stumbled backward onto the lift floor, fell on his knees, and then toppled over to his left side; curling himself tightly around his injury. Shepherd could hardly contain a fit of whimpering and growling as the struck wound continued to torment his entire core. A chill ran through him when he tasted blood in his throat. _Not good._

…

The lion paid no more attention to Shepherd as he stepped over the admiral's tensely curled body and stood aside the lieutenant. The elevator doors closed behind him and with his command, the lift began its ascent to the bridge.

"Let me give him the next blow, eh?" The lieutenant asked as he maliciously glanced at Shepherd. "I've been wanting to show this bastard what a pain in the ass he's be-"

The lieutenant was silenced be the beast's right hand wrapping around his throat and slamming him up against the lift wall. The predator proceeded to hit the lift's stop button with the barrel of his sniper, bringing the elevator to a smooth halt. The beagle's eyes grew wide with terror as the beast's hand tightened and began to crush his windpipe. The mask's red eyes drew close to his own.

"There is more to why I kicked him than you know. This all serves a purpose." The beast released the beagle, who struggled to gasp in all the air he could. "You are to drag him in, toss him in the view of all who used to follow him, then take your place back by my side." The predator stated as he turned back toward the lift doors and spoke the order for the elevator to resume movement.

The voice in the beast's ear returned. "Warning, two more CSC IRT are awaiting one level below the bridge and are looking to stop the lift and ambush you.

"You have control of the entire ship?" The lion asked, irritation leaking through his voice.

"That is correct."

"And are there turrets outside the lift on that level?"

"Two are on standby with the IRT members."

"Then there shouldn't be a problem."

"I have not been programed to make decisions, only to report data according to my-"

The predator closed his eyes, attempting to contain his frustration. "Counter their commands; keep us headed to the bridge, and kill both IRT soldiers with whatever turrets you have available."

The voice made no attempt to conceal its pleasure. "See how easy things are when we all follow our directives."

The lion said nothing as the lift began to slow to a halt. _This is it… _He thought as a vengeful excitement came over him. He lifted up his rifle to examine it once more, tracing over all the nicks he had personally carved. _Today, we bring death to the government that reaps lives with lies._

…...

Private Lory, a short cut Australian Shepherd, nervously stared at a screen loaded with commands that had all been denied.

A Black Lab walked up behind him and observed the same. "Talk to me Lory!"

"I've tried every code in the book sir. I've attempted bypassing certain security protocols, manually accessing assets; it's like a virus has been put in our system."

A voice shouted out from the other control pit in the bridge. "Stop those turrets now! What the fu-, NO! Kill the ships power!"

Different voices from the other control panel rows in both Lory's pit and the adjacent pit begin shouting.

"We've tried cutting the power, nothing's going through!"

"Why is that elevator still on its way here?!"

"Both IRT members are down chief!"

"Someone check the turrets in here fucking now!"

"Soldiers in pit one, row one and pit two, row one, grab your rifles and surround the elevator doors! Everyone else, remain at your stations and get us control of our ship!"

Lory's nerves rocketed as he realized his row was called. His mind fell into disarray as he grabbed his sub blaster rifle and began making his way down his row, heading toward the ramp that led to the mid-room walkway. _Fuck, this was never supposed to happen! I'm not supposed to be holding this! This is for infantrymales! _He reached the top of the ramp and proceeded down the four-meter-wide walkway that ran between the two pits and ended at the elevator.

A black Chihuahua master chief, the same dog that gave the order to converge on the lift doors, hollered again as he paced the walkway; nearly bumping into the few soldiers who were making their way to the elevator. "Why are the rest of the two rows I called still sitting down as if I've said nothing?! Move it ladies! Yes, today you actually have to stand up and fire a weapon in the military!"

Lory glanced back and saw that nearly half the soldiers in both pits still remained at their stations.

The master chief exploded in fury. "WHAT THE FUCK?! We have a highly dangerous individual and a traitor on their way, MOVE!"

Four meters from the elevator door, private Lory stopped in his tracks and looked again toward the pits. He studied the faces of each animal left behind, coming to a chilling realization. _They aren't afraid… they're waiting for something…_

Suddenly, Lory heard the turrets activate directly above him. He looked back at the elevator doors in time to witness the ones who did report get shredded by a pair of heavy, rapid fire laser shots.

Another voice yelled out. "SHIT! Take them out!"

Lory felt himself going numb as blasts from all around him shot at the turrets. Quick as lightning, the turrets whipped around to each target that returned fire and either eternally silenced them, wounded them, or forced them to take cover. Lory was overcome by a powerful nausea and vomited where he stood. His legs then failed him and he fell to the floor; head spinning and ears buzzing beyond control. He could no longer hear it, but everything around him had fallen silent as the elevator arrived at the bridge.

….

The elevator doors split open and the lion took in the vast, open control room covered by a square dome of large window panels. The second pair of turrets he had ordered the AI to activate hung parallel to each other from the asteroid resistant glass about four meters out. The hunter's eyes proceeded to scan down a fifteen-meter walkway that divided two half circle control pits that looked three meters deep and held a radius of seven meters. Each pit held four rows of control panels that ran with the curved end of the circle. His eyes switched to the soldiers in the bridge. Every occupant was either standing or sitting still with their eyes on the arrivals, or lay wounded or lifeless on the ground. A group of five mutilated bodies lay about two meters from the lift entrance, in a slowly increasing pool of blood; a sixth lay crumpled and shaking about four meters out.

The predator glanced at the lieutenant and gave him a nod. The lieutenant acknowledged the order by leaning down and grabbing Shepherd by the collar of his dress uniform, dragging him off the elevator and down the walkway. The beast followed about a meter behind them, eying the soldiers all around him, and stepping over the dead. The one dog he observed lying on the walkway had quickly pushed himself to the starboard side of the path in horror when the admiral being drug by the lieutenant had passed by. Without stopping, the beast gave the Australian Shepherd an additional shove with his boot, sending the dog crashing down with a yelp into the adjacent pit. The trio reached the center of the walkway and, as instructed, the lieutenant released Shepherd and took his place beside the predator.

The lion walked over to where Shepherd lay, still curled around his wound. _Perfect. _The beast thought pleasantly. Using his foot, the beast rolled the admiral onto his back, receiving the same spiteful glare from him; except this time Shepherd's eyes irritably flashed a question: _'What are you going to do to me this time?!'_ The hunter smiled menacingly behind his mask. _Let me show you. _He replied, as if Shepherd could hear his thoughts. Immediately afterwards, the lion lifted his right foot in the air and sent the heel of his boot smashing into the admiral's wound. The beast held it there and began to twist and drive his heel as deep as he could into the admiral's abdomen, finally drawing a howl of torment from Shepherd.

Multiple soldiers drew their weapons and aimed at the intruder, but the turrets were on them the second they had reached for their blasters; taking a few more souls, and sending the rest ducking back into cover.

The lion looked up from Shepherd and began to study the faces of his audience. Several expressions he saw were already informing him which ones would be joining him, and which ones would be executed. _Our part in this is nearly completed, my angel. _He thought with pride. _The rest is up to McCloud._

…..

_Slow down! _Fox yelled at himself as he, once again, had to steady his pace to match that of Slippy; let alone stay behind the female patrol officer who was leading them to captain Dalles. The ride to the headquarters was the most agonizing time he'd ever had to endure. Every second that ticked away felt like a pin being stabbed in his gut. Upon their arrival, Fox had nearly leapt out of the vehicle in angst to get to the entry. Slippy and the female patrol officer joined him outside the hover-van, and the three of them headed off toward the gate in the perimeter fence surrounding the Katina Military Intelligence Headquarters.

The perimeter was marked by a two story tall electromagnetic fence that stretched nearly out of sight in both directions. The panels between each post burned a fiery red and gave off a monotone hum that warned off any who dared approach. Directly behind the panels was an iron barred barrier that stood just as tall and acted as a backup perimeter barricade in the event of either a power outage or electrical failure. The gate looked the same as the panels discounting two neighboring door frames the field overlaid. Parallel steel walls stretched out from each side of the doorways, enforcing strict control of traffic flow.

To both sides of the gate, proceeding it by approximately thirty meters each, were in-ground, concrete fortified bunkers; Fox hadn't even seen them until they had nearly passed them. The dry, tan grass kept any grounded, low silhouette defenses well hidden. Even after spotting the bunkers, the only internal aspects Fox could make out through the observation openings of each were the dark outline of what seemed to be an automatic turret and the moving bodies of at least two soldiers that were posted there.

Over his shoulder, Fox suddenly tuned into the heavy breathing of Slippy, who was practically jogging to keep up with him. _Damn it Fox, slow down! _Fox thought, cursing himself again.

Slippy's voice didn't show any signs of irritation. "If it weren't for all the defenses, one wouldn't believe that this is the structure that holds all the dirty secrets of Lylat, ay Fox?" He huffed out as he caught up.

Fox looked back up at the gate they were almost to. Additional turrets were posted on each side of the gate as well as in a pair of thin steel towers that rose above the perimeter fence, with a guard sharing the space in each one. Behind this arsenal packed wall lay a three hundred square meter, two story building in its center. _That must be it… _Fox thought.

Other than its sheer size, the military intelligence headquarters of Lylat had nothing unique to offer. No custom architecture, no assigned insignias, nothing that made the structure stand out from any other on the planet. _Except for its defenses... _Fox awoke back in the endless battle with the fear of his failure. _Those sewers have to work… There's no other way… _Fox screwed his eyes shut and tilted his head as if someone had just assaulted his face with sand. _It will work! I will get out with whatever the hell Dash wants, and I will save you Krystal! I hope you can hear me; I will save you! _

"Fox?"

Fox snapped his eyes open and looked over at Slippy.

Slippy looked curiously at him. "Did you hear me?"

"Yeah." Fox gave him a weak smile. "I guess… they don't want to bring to much attention to it."

"With these levels of weaponry and strategic defense, no one would be able to get in any way!"

_Or out. _Fox thought with another shiver. He forced himself to keep repeating his previous thoughts. _I will save you Krystal, you will not suffer in vain!_

Slippy turned his attention to the guard leading them inside. "Do any of your turrets have long range capabilities?"

"Katina's facilities are all completely equipped with up-to-date tech and weaponry." Was the spaniel's short reply; Slippy caught the hint and fell silent. Fox resumed taking mental notes of his surroundings. The trio reached the gate and the guard first entered between the walls leading to the entry, followed by Fox, then Slippy. Fox studied the walls to both sides of him, noticing multiple symmetrically placed panels in the steel that could either be removed or slid open. _No telling what's behind them, but these certainly aren't solid steel walls. _Fox continued to follow the guard to the entry point. The guard came to a halt half a meter from the glowing red doorway. "Stand back." She ordered.

Fox took a step back, accidentally bumping into Slippy who grunted in surprise. "Sorry, you okay?"

"Been through worse in an arwing." Slippy replied with a smile.

Fox returned half a smile, finding both comfort and angst in his friend's positive attitude. Memories flashed through his mind of the two of them goofing off as kids on playgrounds and sandboxes, reading comics, playing with toys and video games, and staying up late to swap scary stories. The day Fox's father died, the Toad's took him in for the rest of his middle and high school education; treated him like one of their own. Slippy became his brother that day. _Even if I save her, I've good as lost Krystal. What happens if I lose you too…? _

"Hey!"

Fox snapped back to reality, realizing that the female officer had already stepped through and was impatiently waiting on the other side.

A second guard, the one who barked, stood on the other side of the transparent barrier. "If you're done daydreaming, please step in front of the force field, angle your arms along your sides and distanced from your body."

Fox hurriedly complied. His body began to heat up, feeling foolish for getting distracted. _Again! _He also felt a familiar irritation having to do with the loss of respect for Star Fox since his spoken offense against Venom's restoration. Ever since Fox's rebellion against Dash's wishes, he and the Star Fox team had slowly begun to lose Lylat's respect. _Even though I was right! _His thoughts turned sarcastic. _Wait, no I wasn't. Because it was the grandfather and great uncle's fault! Bad blood line… and the people there just fell under his unfortunate rule!_

Fox stood as ordered as a blue, holographic panel shot forth from both walls and began to horizontally scan the sides of his body from head to boot. The panel completed two full sweeps, then Fox was ordered to turn toward one of the walls so his entire front and back side could also be scanned. Once done, the second guard listed off the discovered items that Fox needed to remove from his person before entry could be granted. For Fox, only his wrist VDT needed to be removed and handed over; he had already prepared for the equipment strip by leaving his blaster and any other item that could be considered a weapon at the Great Fox.

Once Fox removed his VDT, one of the steel panels closest to the red field opened, revealing a large compartment to place the requested items in. Fox surrendered his VDT, the panel closed, and the red field in front of him dissipated. He was directed to step through and follow the long hall till it opened back up to the courtyard between them and the headquarters. Fox did as commanded, as he looked to the building ahead of them; he estimated about a three hundred meter walk to the entrance. Slippy joined them shortly after, and the three continued on down a widespread cement pathway to the structure ahead.

"They take anything from you?" Fox asked.

"My lucky wrench…" Slippy replied, gloomily.

"What?!" Fox asked, displaying shock for his friend.

Slippy began to fume. "They're so strict at these places…"

Fox smiled and gave Slippy a soft pat on the back as he resumed scanning his surroundings. The dry grass that bordered the pathway and covered the landscape surrounded them and the headquarters in an ocean that rolled, like waves, in the wind; occasionally exposing more symmetrically placed bunkers in both of the fields, each containing its own defenses. Fox exhaled anxiously through his nostrils as he looked up to a dismal, ivy green sky that stretched up from the landscape and peered down upon him. The breeze carried a chill that went straight through him, taking any warmth his body had stored up. The place felt dooming. _You're going to do this, you're both going to make it_. Fox swallowed, discovering through discomfort that his mouth and throat were completely parched. He also was reminded of the endless sting in his jaw; he could feel it increasing to a burning sensation. _You're alright Fox, just a weird bruise…_

The walk to the headquarters entrance felt like an arwing's cruising speed. Fox continued to constantly have to remind himself to slow down, stay with Slippy and behind the Cocker Spaniel. It took about three minutes to reach the entrance to the compound. Two sets of double doors stood side by side, the glass in them was tinted so it was impossible to see into the building from the outside. More glass panels of identical size to the doors were placed on the entire front side of the building's first and second floors, about two-meters distance between each other and in a checkered pattern.

Fox swallowed as the guard held the left door of the right set of double doors open for himself and Slippy to step inside. _Closer now… _Fox thought, feeling both comfort and angst; he was growing sick of all these mixed emotions. _Why am I cursed with low self-confidence…? _He glanced down at his VDT and was reminded that he had handed it over at the gate. He proceeded to take the wrist watch given to him by Dash out of his pocket and strap it to his wrist; glancing at its listed time. _Two hours, forty minutes._ Fox instantly lost his comfort. _Less than two hours to sneak the package out of here… Lylat, someone, help me! HELP HER!_

Fox and Slippy stepped into a plain, rectangular room with commercial hard floors and white walls. Across the room from the entry doors were four more solid steel doors spread along the wall with about a half a meter spacing between each. On the left side of each door was a silver rectangular panel containing a small red button with a red or green light of the same size above the button; above the light were four small parallel vents. Once the security officer had entered after Fox and Slippy, she proceeded to one of the doors with a green light, pressed and held down the button. Fox took a moment to better observe the room in which they stood, spotting a black glass dome in the center of the ceiling. _Three-sixty-degree security camera… _Fox mentally titled it.

"Zulu one seven." The cocker spaniel spoke into the vent before releasing the button. The statement drew Fox's eyes back to the door as it popped ajar. The security officer opened the door the rest of the way and gestured for Slippy and Fox to step inside. Fox and Slippy complied and transferred into a room made of steel floors and walls, with steel benches lining the sides of the room. On the other end of the room was a short passage with a red force field securing its entry. Behind the force field was a middle aged, plump white mouse, about a decimeter shorter than Fox, in a black suit and solid silver tie. Fox heard the guard close the door behind them, and turned his head to see her step back into one of the room corners.

He turned his attention back to the mouse as it spoke, "McCloud, step forward."

Fox approached the force field and stopped about a meter from it.

"Arms away from your sides." The male mouse ordered, completely monotone.

Fox complied, and the force field dissipated before the mouse walked up to him and began to pat him down, top to bottom.

"Step to the back of the room." The mouse said after he had checked every inch of Fox's person; including his tail.

Fox complied and took up residence not far from the diligently watchful security officer.

"Toad, step forward." The mouse ordered.

Slippy hurriedly reported to the mouse and threw his arms up before the mouse could even ask it of him. The mouse shook his head slightly, releasing a quiet, annoyed sigh as he began to pat Slippy down in the same manner as he did Fox.

Once Slippy cleared the inspection, the mouse gave him and Fox a quick glance. "Come with me." He stated as he turned and headed toward the passage he had come from. At the end of the short passage was another steel door with a panel of an identical set up as the room's entry door; minus the light. The mouse held down the button and said, "basil" into the vent. After a brief moment, the door popped ajar and the mouse led them into a large, open office area with cubicles spread throughout. Directly ahead of Fox, Slippy, and the mouse was a cleared space with a 'U' shaped wooden desk at its center; manned with two lobbyists. To both sides of the desk were two rows of padded chairs; seated in one of them was a Dalmatian in a blue and black dress uniform. The Dalmatian had been focused on a black tablet he held in his hand before looking up and smiling at the sight of his guests.

"Welcome!" The black spotted dog brightly announced as he rose to his feet and made his way over toward the group, slipping the tablet into an inner dress coat pocket. He approached Fox first and offered a handshake as an additional greeting. "I'm captain Dalles. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. McCloud."

The last two words out of Dalles mouth nearly caused Fox to freeze up. Dash's voice burned in his ears as memories of Fox's reencounter with the primate flashed through his head; all of them displaying the long, sinister grin Dash loved to wear. Fox managed to shake himself of the attack as he took the captain's hand and responded without emotion. "Fox is fine."

"Then Fox it is." The captain replied with a light hearted smile as he turned to Slippy. "And Mr. Toad correct?"

Slippy displayed neither a like, dislike, or uncaring response toward the title. He only returned Dalles' handshake eagerly, matching the smile. "It's been a thrill to finally set foot in such a facility."

"Oh you've seen nothing yet, that's exactly why we requested you come with Fox; an intellect such as yours will prove very useful in the analysis we need."

Slippy beamed with pride, like a youngling that was given a huge complement.

Fox only felt all the more unease. _I really hope this is all an act… _He had zoned out during Slippy's response, but a clap from the captain's hands brought him back to the world.

"Well, we've got a load to do and not much time to do it, so if we're all ready?" He waited until he got a hesitant nod of confirmation from Fox and an enthusiastic one from Slippy before looking over toward the mouse that had let them in. "Ralph, keep looking outstanding."

The mouse just waived his hand at the captain in a brushing motion as he turned and headed toward one of the chairs near the lobby desk. "Yeah, yeah… You have a good one yourself Dalles." He answered nonchalantly.

Dalles grinned at his successful teasing as he turned and began a trek down one of the cubicle aisles. "Follow me please." He called out.

Fox and Slippy glanced at each other, and Fox gestured for Slippy to take the lead. Slippy smiled. "Didn't think we'd run into someone like him, ay Fox?" He asked as he took off after the Dalmatian.

"I'm not so sure it's a good thing that we did." Fox said distantly as he followed after Slippy, glancing over his own shoulder as he walked. Ralph had taken a seat and pulled a crossword puzzle out of his blazer, and the security officer that had escorted them to the headquarters was nowhere to be seen. _Might not of even entered the lobby with us; no sense worrying about it either way… _He thought as he looked passed Slippy down at Dalles. _I'm now with my contact, _hopefully_, and he's leading me to what I've got to take. Oh Lylat, PLEASE LET THIS WORK! _

The ever increasing anxiety inside of Fox was beginning to cause him to sweat. He looked down at his watch again, almost ten minutes had passed. Something different in him suddenly kicked in. _You've assessed every option, you've trained all you could. _He looked up at Slippy ahead of him. _You had a whole team with you to think of what you couldn't. _His eyes switched to Dalles. _You're here, you're ready, and you're willing. _Fox's expression began to give birth to determination, finding real confidence again. _There isn't anything stopping you. You have the strongest piece of motivation backing you, and you won't stop fighting for her until a laser sears through your very soul. _

The trio had made it out of the cubicles and were now traveling down long, flat carpeted, empty walled halls. The place had been fairly populated so far. Each cubicle had contained at least one business dressed worker, and Fox, Slippy, and Dalles passed an animal or two headed the opposite direction every ten to twenty seconds. After turning another corner, an elevator was in sight; about twenty meters out. Fox glared at it as if it were the very enemy he had come to face. _You won't stop fighting, and you will win. _

The group reached the elevator, and Dalles hit the call button for the lift. "Have either of you been briefed on why you're here?"

Fox shook his head while Slippy spoke. "Not a word."

The captain chuckled. "Doesn't surprise me, no one ever communicates… It's only the military right? Not like passing information between soldiers wins wars or anything."

The elevator doors slid open and the trio stepped in. The lift was large enough to fit at least twenty people.

"Big as it seems," Captain Dalles said, referring to the elevator size. "when shift change comes around, it takes two to three hours to get everyone in and out of this place. You've really got to love your job to work here." Dalles placed his hand on a scanner that replaced the usual floor controls. The system recognized his prints, and brought up a screen with the five sections to choose from. Dalles selected section two, and the screen brought up ten more sub-sections, from which Dalles selected sub-section seven.

The elevator instantaneously began a very rapid decent to what Fox guessed was going to be the twenty seventh floor. _Definitely won't take long to get there. _He mentally griped, feeling a little shaken at the unexpected drop.

"Why don't they just add more elevators?" Slippy asked, continuing the Dalmatian's previous conversation effort.

"We've got plenty from the second floor down, more than necessary. But," Dalles raised his index finger in the air, changing his voice as if to mock someone. "It's a security risk to have more than one entrance and/or exit to ground level" The captain dropped his finger and returned his voice to normal. "So we have to deal with one decent sized elevator. But now to business; an unclassified brief of your purpose here." Dalles eyed Fox. "You and your team have some of the best up close and personal experiences with past technology from our enemies. Recent intel from various planets show a rise in updated technology from foreign sources. This new technology has a high amount of similarities to past tech that the Cornerian military and Star Fox alike has dealt with. All we need you to do is confirm or deny all of our assessments on the older equipment that we have stored here, see if you can bring anything new to the table, before we start setting things in stone."

Fox had folded his arms half way through the captain's explanation. By the end of it, Fox's eyebrows were raised indignantly. _Great job Dash, you actually took the time to come up with a full on pile of Nerf dung for why we're here. Now at least I don't have to worry about looking suspicious on record… _Dalles didn't watch Fox for a verbal response; his gaze slowly traveled back to the doors they all faced. A small shiver traveled through Fox. _Or is that your way of telling me that what I'm taking is a piece of past equipment? _Fox's confusion awoke his anger. _What the heck do you need with antiques that you wanted _me _to steal Bowman?! Why the hell kind of game do you have me playing?! _

The lift slowly came to a halt, and the elevator doors opened to a long, wide, glossy white hallway. No windows, furnishings, or designs of any kind could be seen. Only doors hardly two meters wide were placed in various places along the walls, indicating an entry to a room. The group stepped off the elevator and began walking to their destination. There weren't any animals in the halls of level twenty-seven. The only movement the trio observed was a single soldier exiting a door they were headed towards, but he soon disappeared through another door further down the passage.

Slippy had asked Dalles something about the equipment, to which the captain was contently answering, but Fox had blurred out all of it during his own observations; he was looking for anything that would indicate access to the sewage tunnels. _Nothing. _

Fox began studying each door they passed. Placed on the right side, mid-section of each door was a small, square, black bordered hand print scanner. The doors themselves were labeled only by one letter, followed by two numbers; the labels were indented into each door with black ink. _One of these doors leads to the outer tunnels, but there's no way I'm finding that out by trial and error. _

"How does anyone keep their sanity in this place?" Fox heard Slippy ask, "I feel like I'm in an endless padded room…"

Dalles didn't even have to answer Slippy's question verbally. As the trio rounded another corner, he merely pointed to a large, lengthy rectangular window that revealed a twenty square meter courtyard with lifelike trees, bushes, flowers, brick paths, fountains, and benches; all lit by artificial sunlight lamps. "The military's attempt to give us mental relief from our work. There's at least one on every level. It changes from day to night with Katina's atmosphere.

Slippy stared at the area a moment longer, then looked over at Fox. "I take it all back. Don't care what gadgets and gizmos are here, I'd want nothing to do with this place!"

Fox could hardly display even half a smile for his friend. _I wish my reasons for hating this place were that simple… _Fox briefly closed his eyes to calm himself. _There's a way, it will come. We're getting out of here. _

Dalles continued his conversation with Slippy. "Hey, at night we even have little stars that light up, so it's not all bad." He said, showing no effort to hide the sarcasm in his voice. Suddenly and unexpectedly, Dalles came to a halt outside of D23. "Almost missed it." He said humorously.

Fox took a deep breath in before slowly releasing it as Dalles placed his hand on the scanner. _Whatever it is I'm taking, please let it be small. _

The door swiftly slid open, and the lights in the room were instantly powered up. Before the groups eyes was a seven-meter-wide, ten-meter-long chamber that extended up to the twenty sixth level; the room was similar to a small hanger. In the center of one half of the chamber was a large, solid examination table, and on the other half of the room were labeled crates and safes containing whatever equipment was stored in the room. Extending down from the ceiling over the table were three large, round lights, and over the cargo was a three limbed crane large enough to pick up the various sized crates and materials. On both walls lining the table and the cargo were a set of stairs starting at the cargo and leading up to a balcony that extended from the wall lining only the table, with a door placed at the center of the balcony.

Fox's gut grew tight as he stepped into the room, immersed in trying to decipher what it was he had to steal. Dalles hadn't said a word further since they entered, and had disappeared into one of the isles kept clear for maneuvering through the cargo.

Fox felt Slippy's hand placed on his back. "Stay calm Fox." Fox heard Slippy say.

Fox looked over at his friend. _Guess I haven't done the best at hiding my anxiety._

Slippy gave a reassuring, adventurous smile. "We're gonna get through this, we always do."

Fox actually found himself returning the smile. "You're right." He looked back over at captain Dalles as he was just exiting the cargo, carrying a small, metal, black box in his hand. _We are going to save you Krystal. _

Dalles continued past Fox and Slippy over to the observation table, gently placing the box on its surface. From underneath the table top he pulled out a drawer. From the drawer he pulled a small first aid kit, an electric razor, and a scalpel; setting each item down next to the box. From the first aid kit Dalles drew two latex gloves, applying each one to his hands. Fox calmly stared at the four objects, but inside he felt a very strong sense of doom; the burning in his jaw slowly increased beyond the stable point he had been able to ignore. He looked back up at the Dalmatian, who stared back at him with an equally calm demeanor. Fox stepped toward and cautiously reached for the black box.

"Wait, Mr. McCloud." Dalles ordered.

Fox nearly cringed as he halted in place, his hand decimeters from the object that held Krystal's salvation. _There it is, that damn title! _Fox's eyes shifted back up at Dalles; his impatience was slowly rising.

Dalles turned from Fox and Slippy, walking over to a panel placed in the wall that held the balcony. He input a few commands before dropping his hand and looking back at Fox. An audible, steady, mellow beep was heard from speakers placed somewhere in the ceiling. Again and again it sounded, threatening to end Fox's self-control as his sweat began to dampen his fur. Suddenly it stopped, and after a few seconds of agonizing silence, a voice spoke out that Fox couldn't feel more split on hearing.

"Congratulations Mr. McCloud, you are about to make history as the mercenary that brought about the eternal rule of Andross' blood line!"

Every nerve in Fox's body twitched in utter torment from Dash's voice. He fists clenched tight, nails digging deep into his palm as he fought the urge to scream all forms of obscene phrases at the primate. _Don't show weakness, don't let him know your falling apart. Krystal still needs you! Don't let him gain control!_

An additional light shone forth from the ceiling to Fox's left, and at its end stood the blue, holographic form of Bowman; grinning as maliciously as when Fox first saw him on Venom. Fox nearly lunged at the figure, ready to rip it to shreds. _My time will come. _He thought, forcing himself to stay put. _I promise you, you will know the other side of hell. _

Fox's anxiety spiked as Dash walked right up to him. "It pains me to say you're running a bit short on time. I hope you've planned for a quick escape."

Fox showed no fear as he held Bowman's eyes. "Just show me what you want, and I'll be on my way."

Dash's expression turned mischievously inquisitive. "Don't you want to see her first?"

Fox's knees nearly buckled, his throat dried up, his eyes widened, and his pupils dilated as an all too familiar wave of emotions washed over him.

Dash merely watched Fox undergo the attack, his smile growing all the wider. He stepped back away from Fox and gestured to his left side, away from the table. Another blue light activated, and Krystal's body generated in the exact spot Bowman had motioned at, about three meters away from Fox and Bowman. Fox's mouth fell ajar as he observed her, and the entire room fell silent. Seconds later, the loud clop of Fox's knee pads striking the floor echoed through the chamber; his knees had caved. Tears formed in his eyes, which remained locked on her as Fox found his voice; using all the breath in his lungs to cry out in denial.

Krystal was sitting dazed in the same wheelchair as before. Not a piece was missing from her outfit, not a scar had been added to her face; but her left arm, the one Dash had mutilated with a single golden bullet, had been removed.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

_HERE IS THE RESULT OF YOUR CHOICE! HERE LIES THE CONSEQUENCE OF YOUR ACTION! HERE SHOUTS THE ETERNITY OF YOUR PUNISHMENT! _The words screamed in Fox's head as he stared in defeat at Krystal's missing limb. He had known that the arm had been completely destroyed, but seeing it gone crushed him entirely. _All the things I've taken from you… _Fox closed his watered eyes and bowed his head. He hadn't noticed that Dash had approached him again.

Bowman slowly squatted and spoke, ear level with Fox. "You know Mr. McCloud; I must say I'm quite offended."

Fox didn't respond.

Bowman continued, "You should be thanking me for what I did for her, I saved her life! Without my medical team and supplies, she'd be dead right now! But all you can do is scream, 'no!'?"

Fox had begun to tense up the second Dash had finished saying that he should be thankful. Once Dash was done talking altogether, Fox rose to his feet and turned on him, who remained squatted and just watched him; intrigued.

The fur underneath Fox's spite filled eyes were damp with tears. "If she were dead, I wouldn't be here right now. I'd be back on Venom with you, and you would be torn to pieces on your _cold, white, floors_."

Bowman sighed and looked down at the ground. "And how quick you forget all the pain that I can cause her while she's still living."

Fox gritted his teeth. "You have me by the chain around my neck, but no number of times you yank me around will change what I will do to you once I'm free."

Dash chuckled before rising to Fox's eye level. "No Fox, she's the one I have by the chain. You are merely bound by your affection for her, and of that _you_ choose whether or not you are free."

Fox was silent.

Dash smiled with a vicious intent as he pulled an all too familiar revolver from his coat. "Oh, the things I should do to her for the disrespect you've shown me."

Fox's fists clenched tight. _"_Touch her again, and I'm done. I haven't made any attempts to break away or free her. I'm here and I'm ready to get what you need. Hurt her again, and that's all over."

Bowman looked at Fox questionably. "Could you live with that Mr. McCloud? Could you just stand there and quit while I finish her limbs, one section at a time, then carve into the remains of her pretty figure?" Dash stepped closer to Fox, presenting another devilish smile. "I've even considered using her to fulfill a certain… male desire, before I start."

Everything inside Fox wanted to explode in pure rage at that threat, but he held his serious, collected manner. He knew there was only one way to keep Bowman from tormenting Krystal further, and he wasn't about to blow it. "I don't have to live with it. Way I see it, both her life and mine are already over. You cause her any form of pain for so much as a second longer, I will end my own life right here, right now, and you will lose everything."

Dash raised an eyebrow, entertained by Fox's answer. "Even if you had a gun, would you really have the guts to end your own life; by your own hand?"

Fox fought past his nerves to give another confident threat. "I'd start by plunging my clawed thumbs through my eyes and into my brain. If that didn't work, I'd shred my throat." Fox approached Dash as close as Dash had approached him. "I _dare you_ to _test me_."

The two held each other's stare, motionless. Five seconds past before a grin crept back onto Bowman's face. "You've impressed me Mr. McCloud, you win this one." He slid the revolver back into his blazer, stepped away from Fox, and placed his hands behind his back as he walked over to the table where all the pulled items were waiting; facing Fox again when he got there.

Fox had made his way over to Krystal and knelt down beside her while Dash's back was turned. Fox wasn't sure if she knew he was there, but it didn't matter. Barely conscious as she was, she seemed at peace, and that brought Fox a small taste of comfort. _I can never right the wrong I've done to you, but… you will be free. Even if it costs my life, I will see you back in Panther's arms; safe._

"Don't waste your breath Mr. McCloud, I've got her drugged up enough that her brain might as well be mush right now." Bowman said humorously.

"I'm done wasting _time_." Fox said as he stood and approached the table, glaring at Dash the entire way. "What is it you want from here, and you'll have it within the next two hours."

Dash held his grin. "You've had it this whole time."

Fox had reached the table and stopped. "You've given me nothing."

Bowman's grin grew as his brow creased. "You know nothing."

Fox wanted to slam his fists on the table and demand that the monkey cut the games, but he controlled himself. _You'll only be giving him what he wants. _"Then tell me what it is I have; you're wasting your own time right now."

Fox's body tensed as Dash responded with a chuckle. "If you say so." Dash stepped back from the table, looked at Dalles, and gestured toward the items that lay on the table's surface. Dalles nodded, wearing his own small grin that he'd displayed the entire time, and picked up the scalpel in his gloved right hand.

Bowman continued. "Noticed any pain in your lower jaw, Mr. McCloud? Particularly on your left side?"

A shiver began to creep up Fox's spine. The burning had never left his jaw, only to be forgotten during serious enough distractions.

A chuckle rose in Bowman's throat. "Oh, the time has finally come that you get to learn EVERYTHING!"

Fox swallowed, feeling a combination of impatience and fear. "I'm all ears."

"First things first. On the interior side of your lower left jaw bone, you will find a plastic encased SD (secure digital) card."

Dalles approached Fox and held out the scalpel towards him as Dash continued. "You are to retrieve it and hand it to captain Dalles, who will deliver it to its intended location."

Fox's heart rate spiked. He had dealt with many wounds in his life, but never had he undergone cutting through his skin, deep into his muscles and ligaments.

Bowman couldn't look more pleased. "So very sorry, it was the only way to get it past the scanners in this facility. I honestly did pick the most efficient place for it to be extracted. Just think of it as a way to tap into the pain that she feels." Dash added, gesturing towards Krystal.

Fox looked over at her. Even in her unconscious, slouched, armless state, he found her the same as he always had. _So beautiful, delicate, like an angel… you never belonged here. _Fox looked down at the scalpel, his heart rate increasing to the point where he could feel his entire body pulsing.

"The card is awfully small Mr. McCloud, so cut with care." Dash added with mirth.

Fox screwed his eyes shut tight and began taking deep breaths, preparing for what he was about to do. _It's finally time I took the suffering._

…..

Slippy watched in near terror as Fox held out his right hand, and Dalles placed the scalpel in his palm. Fox's fingers slowly closed around it as his breathing heightened. Unable to stand it any longer, Slippy dashed over to his childhood pal and placed his hand on his shoulder. "You could let me cut it out; it'd be easier for you that way?!"

Bowman cleared his throat as he rocked his index finger side to side at Slippy. "Commendable effort Slippy, but this is something Fox will do. We could give him a mirror though?" He asked, looking over at Dalles.

"Seems like the decent thing to do." Dalles said with a nod, reaching into his dress uniform jacket and pulling out his tablet. He selected its camera application, and set its view so that Fox could see himself on the screen.

Slippy looked up at Fox, who had opened his eyes and was intensely staring at the screen; his breathing kept growing deeper and faster. _Strength be with you Fox… _Slippy thought helplessly as he slowly backed away.

Fox looked up at captain Dalles. "Let's step away from the table." He said as he put three meters' distance between himself and the table.

Dalles followed Fox to the spot, keeping the tablet in Fox's view as he held out another item: the electric razor. "You'll want to shave the area first."

Fox stared at the item for a moment before grabbing it with his empty hand, switching it on, and shaving a thick line along his lower left jaw bone; using the tablet to check his work. Once satisfied, Fox turned the razor off and handed it back to Dalles, who tossed it rearward with a smirk.

Fox ignored the comedic gesture. "Kneel with me." He ordered as he pulled off his white gloves and slid them into his down jacket.

Dalles nodded as both he and Fox took a knee. Fox looked into the screen again and positioned the blade along his lower left jawline. He stared into the screen for a moment longer before screwing his eyes shut. Slippy watched his friend's entire body tense up. _Lylat, he's going to do it! _Slippy closed his eyes, unable to watch. _You pathetic green frog, if he has to carve into himself you can flippin' witness his suffering with him! _Slippy cracked open one eye and saw Fox in the same position as before, his lungs still raced until suddenly he fell completely silent and still. Three eternal seconds passed in soundless agony before Fox's scalpel wielding hand began to rotate, and the sound of sliced flesh could be heard.

…

Every muscle in Fox's body grew tighter and tighter as the blade parted his skin. In a second, both the wound and the blade felt searing hot. He had tried his best to keep silent, but with the final two centimeters he released a loud groan that broke into a short cry. Fox pulled the scalpel from the wound and it fell from his palm onto the floor. Fox fell onto his right hand and pressed his left hand against the wound, fighting against the fiery sting that attempted to overwhelm him. Blood actively dripped from the cut and filled his palm in seconds, overflowing a few drops to the floor. Fox looked up into the tablet to inspect his progress, tilting his head as far back as possible to get a clear view of the incision and using his hand to wipe away as much of the scarlet fluid as he could. _Damn it! _He cursed as he dropped his head.

Dalles chuckled. "You got a long way to go pup."

Fox clenched his right hand into a fist. _Common Fox! _

He had made it past a good few layers of skin, but the cut was hardly three centimeters in length. Fox looked back over at Krystal, his eyes danced back and forth between her beautiful face, and the stump that used to be her arm. He proceeded to slowly hang his head between his arms. _You've never truly understood pain, have you Fox? Only fear… _His gaze traveled back over to Krystal. _So what is it going to be? Are you going to dwell in fear? _Fox brought his head and eyes over to where the bloody scalpel lay beside him._ Or are you going to plunge into a newfound knowledge of pain and suffering, to save her life? _

Fox took one more longing glance at Krystal as he lifted himself off his right hand and straightened himself. His eyes filled with a passionate determination as they returned to the scalpel and he picked it back up. Fox closed his eyes, took a long, deep breath, then let it back out; slow and controlled. His eyes flew back open, and he looked at himself in the tablet. Fox positioned his head so he had a clear view of the wound, wiping away more of his built up blood before bringing the scalpel back into place. He vividly imaged plunging the blade as deep as it would go, then dragging it along the left inner side of his jaw bone; starting at the chin and ending at the back end of his jaw. Over and over he ran through the process, until it was burned in his head. _You know what you must do. _Fox tensed, preparing himself. _Alright agony, show me what you got. _

Fox closed his eyes and without a second's hesitation, he plunged the blade into the scarlet soaked, dripping wound and began to carve alongside the bone. He growled furiously from the infernal sting that exploded from the infliction, and remained in its tracks. Fox focused on the image in his head, forcing his hand to follow its instruction and not allow anything to stop his progress. The blade reached the end of his jaw, and Fox pulled it out with a short, tormented cry. Without rest, he took his left pinky finger and stuck it into the incision, feeling for the card. The burning sensation flared at the intrusion, but Fox stayed focused on the image in his head; he would not stop. _There it is! _He thought as his finger traced an abnormal, smooth, solid object protruding from the space between the jaw bone and muscle; though it wasn't protruding enough to pull it out. _Must go deeper! _

Fox pulled his finger out of the cut and brought the scalpel in his right hand back to it. All of his fingers on both hands were now completely soaked with his blood, and the floor at his knees had accumulated a good sized puddle of it. Fox was thankful for his adrenaline, lest he be passed out on the floor. _Must… go… deeper! _He repeated before plunging the blade back into the wound, pushing it as deep as it would go into the ligaments around his chin. He hollered in utter torment as he sliced in the same direction he had before; he could feel each and every centimeter of flesh cut by the blade as it went. The bottom of his tongue could feel the foreign point of the scalpel traveling beneath the gum tissue; the pain was becoming impossible to bear. _DO… NOT… STOP! _Fox screamed in his head, still crying out with his voice as the blade passed the half way point. With one final effort, he finished off the last bit of muscle with a decisive swipe before simply letting the scalpel fall out of the wound and onto the metal floor; knocking loose most of the blood that had completely covered it.

Before Fox finally fell to temptation to let the pain overwhelm him, he shoved his left index finger and thumb back into the wound and pulled out the encased SD card. His brain alerted him to be cautious when he realized the card was no bigger than his distal index phalange. He looked up at Dalles and held out the card to him; Dalles slipped the tablet back into his jacket and took the card from Fox. Fox pressed his left hand back up against the wound, desperately trying to ease the searing pain and stop the blood flow. While doing so, he watched Dalles travel over to the table, open up the small black box and place the card inside before closing it. Fox finally caved to the sting as he fell to his side and began involuntarily groaning, pressing his hand as hard as he could against the wound.

Seconds later, he suddenly felt a pair of hands grab his shoulders and roll him onto his back. Fox laid eyes on the culprit above him. _Dalles?! _Before Fox could react, one of the captain's hands grabbed his chin and pulled it up to better expose the lower jaw, while the other hand wiped it dry with what felt like a cloth. Afterwards, the captain proceeded to press something else against the wound that came with a sting matching what Fox just went through. Fox shouted in misery as he did everything he could to get Dalles to release him.

Dalles struggled to keep control of Fox's head. "Don't fight it, I'm fixing your wound!"

"You'd better not be lying, you son of a…!" Fox growled as he forced himself to lie still.

About ten seconds past before Dalles let Fox go and stepped away from him, dropping a white rag on the ground next to Fox's head. "That's for your hands."

Fox laid on the ground a moment longer, calming his spinning head. His fading adrenaline was threatening to pull him from consciousness. He slowly rolled to a sitting position, used the rag to clean his dry his hands of the blood, and went to inspect his incision with his left hand. The skin felt smooth as if nothing had happened, though the heavy burning sensation still remained; accompanied by blood stains on his jaw and neck. Fox momentarily contemplated what Dalles had done. _That must have been a dermis cauterizing pad. _Fox had learned all about them during the flight academy, and had used a handful of them during his leadership of Star Fox.

"Your part in this is finished, Mr. McCloud." Dash stated eerily.

Fox's thoughts stopped dead as he slowly turned toward Bowman, making his way to his feet as he did so.

Bowman still stood by the table as he gestured at captain Dalles, who had retrieved the black box from the table and walked out the same door they had come in. Fox observed a security guard had also entered the room during his self-inflicted operation, but it didn't remain on his mind. He had a single inquiry for Bowman, but he feared he already knew the answer. "I still have to retrieve whatever it is you need."

"You have delivered what I needed. Within the hour, every automated machine that the Cornerian military has ever integrated into their arsenal will be mine to control."

Fox successfully stood straight up, but was still struggling for his balance. Dash's words were slowly causing his nerves to rise. "This was never a pickup, was it."

Dash shook his head slowly, wearing his usual grin. "No Mr. McCloud."

Fox grit his teeth. "Why the deceit?"

"Why would I give you a bargaining tool? You already found the guts to threaten me with your own life, it'd be too easy to threaten me with my SD card and a hammer."

For a split second, Fox was amused. _You were afraid of my will to barter. _The amusement left as fast as it had come. Fox knew his next question, and like the first, he feared the next answer. "What happens with Krystal?"

"What I promised: she lives and suffers no further."

The answer only partially satisfied Fox. "And her freedom?"

Silence followed Fox's question until Dash slowly began to chuckle, proceeded by a roar of laughter. He calmed himself after a few seconds and looked Fox dead in the eye. "Now, now Mr. McCloud. Do you remember me saying anything about her freedom?" His grin increased a couple centimeters. "I sure don't."

Fox instantly felt snared. _I knew it was too early to celebrate… _He thought as his heart sank, fully aware to how powerless he was to fight whatever Dash claimed to have said. Though upon recalling Bowman's terms, he came to the horrifying realization that he couldn't remember any promises of Krystal's release; only her safety. _You idiot! _However, Fox kept himself calm. _He's promised to let her live, that's bought you more time. _"What benefit do you gain from keeping her?!"

"She's a weapon, Mr. McCloud." Dash stated as he began walking over to Krystal. "A _fucking_ weapon." He reached Krystal and stood directly behind her, placing his hand on her shoulder as he continued. "Upon taking her into captivity, she convinced one of my soldiers to draw and fire his weapon upon another, without saying a single word. You yourself witnessed her attempt to force me to bash my own head in. She almost succeeded a second time after you left, hence why she is now kept unconscious; though it probably won't be long until she figures out a way around that as well… That's where the next step comes in."

Fox listened no further, he knew Bowman's heart was set on this. _If I don't act now and get back to her, I'll never see her again. _He looked around for Slippy and found him passed out cold on the floor a few meters from where Fox had cut into his jaw. Fox felt a stab of pity and irritation with his friend. He understood why he fainted, but that didn't help the situation. _I've got to wake you back up. _Fox walked over to Slippy and knelt down beside him.

"I hadn't finished, Mr. McCloud."

"There's only one more thing I'm interested in hearing from your mouth." Fox began shaking his friend's shoulder as he looked over at Bowman. "What was on that card?"

Dash shrugged. "Have it your way. It was an artificial, intelligent, neurotoxic virus. Dalles is currently headed…" Dash looked off towards something invisible to Fox. "Oh look, he just inserted it. That was the bite, Mr. McCloud." Bowman began walking toward Fox. "Starting from the very heart of Corneria's virtual systems, the virus will spread throughout its veins and hand complete control over to me. Intelligence databases, operating systems, satellite and video feeds all will be mine to access and command! Corneria will be left only with the treacherous to defend them, whom will be decimated in seconds when every turret, vehicle, shield, robot, you name it Mr. McCloud, turns on them before they even notice." Dash's voice began passionately rising as he reached Fox and began to circle him. "Venom will rise unopposed, and you Mr. McCloud, will be hailed as the great deliverer! Everyone will know your name!" Bowman stopped, faced Fox, and rose his arms above his head for presentation; merrily shouting his next statement. "Fox McCloud, the one who revived the _rightful_ empire of the Lylat system!"

Fox rose to his feet and faced off with Dash. "Then why do you need her?! You have what you wanted, let her go!"

"And surrender such an asset that was placed into my hands? I'd be a fool Mr. McCloud! She can mentally read and send messages, bend the whim of whoever she chooses without even looking at them! Think of what she could do when she's honed in on her abilities?! One day Mr. McCloud, revolutions will rise against me, and she will crush them before they even pick up their weapons!"

Fox lowered his chin slightly as the emotion in his eyes instantly grew fierce. "There's one revolution that, had you let her go, never would've started. Now, there's no telling how fast and how hard I will bring my wrath down upon you. I'm coming, she will be free, and you will know the mistake you've made."

Bowman held Fox's glare with his usual grin, seemingly unphased. "Then you'd better get going, you have less than five minutes until I have control of every automated asset in the headquarters, let alone any guard or soldier that will oppose you." Dash glanced over to the security guard, a male Doberman Pinscher, that had posted about two meters from the far side of the table around the time Dalles had left. Bowman looked back at Fox tauntingly. "Good luck, Mr. McCloud."

With that, Dash faded from Fox's site. Fox looked over towards where Krystal had been, and his heart sank upon seeing she was gone too. _It doesn't matter. I will see you again, and there is no obstacle I cannot cross to get there. _Fox observed the security guard. _Starting with you. _The pinscher had seemed reactionless to everything that had happened, and was now cautiously watching Fox. From what Fox could tell, the guard was armed with a single hand blaster, Fox thought of the scalpel that he had left lying on the ground, but he didn't dare look towards it.

Fox had still received no response from Slippy. "Well my friend, you leave me no choice." Fox raised his right hand and gave a swift slap to Slippy's face, calling his name. Still no response. Fox grit his teeth. _I told you I'm not losing you in here, you're coming with me! _Fox struck Slippy a second time, then a third; calling his name with each strike. On the forth slap, the frog's eyes fluttered open. _About time! _

Slippy's words weren't far from garble. "Did… did you… is it… out…?"

Fox smirked at his friend. "It's over Slippy, we're getting out of here." He offered Slippy his hand.

Slippy took it, but winced as Fox began to pull him up. "Ah, head spinning… stomach… turning…"

Fox slowly lowered Slippy back to the ground. _Common! I've got a guard watching me, you can't stand, we need to go! _Suddenly an idea hit him; spiking his anxiety. "Let me check the first aid kit and see if there's anything to get you up faster." He told Slippy as he stood and headed toward the table.

Slippy's eyes shot wide open. "Fox, you… you know I don't like needles."

Fox kept his eyes from glancing over toward the guard as he approached the table where the medical kit lay. "Neither do I bud." He was sweating as he began to sift through the different bandages, tourniquet, and capped vials filled with injectable fluids. _You have _one_ shot at this Fox! _He glanced back the guard, estimating about two meters' distance between them. _I should've played sports more… _

The Pinscher placed his hand on his blaster as he noticed Fox watching him.

Fox's heart stopped. _Here we go!_ In a single second, Fox stepped toward the guard, rotated his upper body, with force, in the direction he stepped, and used his arms to launch the kit toward the guard as hard as he could.

Fox's aim was perfect. As the guard drew his blaster, he was blinded by the array of objects, then stunned by the metal case smacking into his chin and collar. Immediately after the case had struck him, the guard was met by Fox's body smashing him against the wall he had stood by.

Fox wasted no time in his movements, he had already planned his assault. The instant the guard hit the wall, Fox drove his right fist as hard as he could into the dog's abdomen. The guard bent forward with the blow, and Fox swung his left forearm up into the Pinscher's jaw; bringing him back to a straight, standing position. Fox then thrust his right palm into the dog's snout, propelling his head into the wall behind it. Fox proceeded to step to his left, keeping his right leg in the way of the guard's legs. He grabbed the dog's right shoulder and mid back, and threw the Pinscher's body forward; causing the him to trip and fall face first onto the ground below. Before the guard could gather his thoughts, Fox landed his right knee in the center of the dog's spine, and brought his right fist hammering down onto the back of the Pinscher's skull, causing his forehead to smack against the concrete floor.

Fox grabbed and kept hold of the dog's uniform collar with his left hand before reaching for the holster of the Pinscher's blaster with his right hand. Upon finding it empty, he remembered the guard had already drawn the weapon before the assault. Fox looked back toward the wall and saw the blaster on the ground. _Fuck! _He instantly retrained his eyes on the guard and lifted his head up by the shirt collar, finding him out cold with blood oozing from both the back of his skull and his forehead. Fox's stress shattered as shocked relief replaced it. _It… worked…_ _Heck, it worked better than I thought it would! _His solemn demeanor returned as he realized that he still wouldn't take any risks. He rose from the body and walked toward the blaster.

Slippy's voice intruded Fox's thoughts. "Dang Fox, did you kill him?" Slippy had propped himself up on his elbows as his wide, horrified eyes switched between Fox and the downed guard.

Fox had momentarily forgotten about Slippy, and didn't pay too much attention to him as he picked up the blaster and made sure it was loaded. "I'm going to."

Slippy began to get to his feet as fast as his dizzied mind would allow. "Fox, let's just relax and think about this; he's out cold."

Fox walked over to and stood aside the body, then looked directly into Slippy's eyes. "Any male in here loyal to Dash won't hesitate for a _second _to take us down. I _will not _have a _single one _come back to haunt us."

Before Slippy could offer any form of rebuttal, Fox looked down the sights of the blaster, lined them up with the Pinscher's skull, and pulled the trigger.

….

Neither Lucy or Amanda had strayed further from the Great Fox than its loading ramp. When the word came, they were going to be ready. R.O.B remained in the bridge to monitor the ship and ensure it was primed for takeoff, while Amanda and Lucy had attempted to bury themselves in smaller tasks to pass the time; yet it brought no speed to the dragging clock.

Amanda had spent some time in the kitchen whipping up some from-scratch meals to keep the team fed. The chore was bitter sweet, as cooking always made her feel close to Slippy. She had always felt in competition with her husband, his culinary abilities had thrown her completely off guard at the beginning of their relationship. She'd always envisioned settling down with one she'd have to cook for. With Slippy, they'd wind up in a race to see who could make the best meal. _Frustrating as the little culinary mastermind could be… _She thought as she worked. _I'd give anything to have him back… Oh please Slippy, make it back safe. _

Lucy had taken it upon herself to knock out some of the team's laundry. Star Fox had invested in an industrial washer and dryer to keep on the Great Fox II, greatly reducing their number of planetary stops. They had bolted down the appliances to the floor against a perimeter wall of the team's shower room, where Slippy, Falco, and Fox had worked to cut panels out of predetermined places on the wall, reconfigured the plumbing to create a pair of spigots, and then welded the wall panels back in place. Slippy was decent at keeping the appliances up and running, but times had come where Star Fox would have to re-wear clothing until the next planetary supply run; where further repairs on the machines could be made.

Upon checking the shower room for left behind clothing, Lucy came across Fox's tattered, blood stained uniform. She kneeled at the pile in front of her and began inspecting each piece; looking past the dried, flaked blood that nearly covered each item. His jacket, pants, and shemagh could be salvaged, but the vest and sleeveless tactical combat shirt were shredded at the front by whatever clawed animal he encountered. A sharp pang targeted her heart as her grief returned. The war inside her had never subsided; regret and angst wrestled to and fro to the point where her mind threatened to collapse. _I shouldn't have let you go… _Lucy closed her eyes and bowed her head. _You've already undergone so much, where are you going to stop? Can you be stopped? Could the chance with another help you abandon your guilt? Abandon your sense of guardianship? Or am I chasing a dream that would be shattered by confrontation…? _Lucy opened her eyes and glowered at his clothes, grabbing and tossing the ones that could be washed in the basket she carried.

Before standing to leave, she glanced at and looked over Fox's boots, noticing a large, charred hole in the bridge of the right boot. Lucy felt as if an electric bolt tore through her. She had been so distracted by all the rest of Fox's wounds, she had never even noticed this one. _Oh Fox… _A pained sigh breathed out her lips as she ran her fingers along the damaged area of the boot. _What happened to you down there… _

R.O.B.'s voice came on over the intercom. "LUCY, AMANDA, REPORT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. A TRANSMISSION AS BEEN RECEIVED FROM FOX."

Lucy's heart took off in a sprint, feeling a bittersweet mix of excitement and terror. She had dropped the basked where she knelt and leapt toward the shower room exit, racing as fast as she could toward the bridge. _Please be alright, that's all I ask! _She prayed, glancing up toward the ceiling. A loud shriek came from her mouth and the mouth of another as her body slammed into Amanda; who had hopped to getting to the control room with as much energy as Lucy. The two exchanged brief, heartfelt apologies. "Please, after you." Lucy said, gesturing up the stairs.

"Thank you, I really hope they're both okay." Amanda stated nervously as she shot up the stairs.

"You said it." Lucy replied as she followed straight after her. She suddenly was overcome with immense pity for Amanda, and guilt for even feeling stressed about Fox. _I'm not the one with a husband in danger… _

They both tore into the bridge and found R.O.B. standing at the holographic table. Lucy's heart sank slightly when it wasn't Fox's form she saw displayed on the table, but planet Katina with a flashing red dot marking the location that was being reached out to, accompanied by the light, repetitive beep.

Amanda spoke right up and over the noise. "Did you lose connection?! Is Slippy alright?!"

"PLEASE STAND-BY." Was R.O.B.'s response.

Amanda's face instantly grew red with fury, but as she went to lecture the robot, Falco's voice stopped her as his entire upper body appeared on the screen.

….

A soft, cool breeze blew through and slightly ruffled Falco's vibrant blue feather's as he rested with his back against the lower fuselage of Amanda's Tadpole. He had found a secluded valley with just enough hills, rock and grass to conceal the fighter, but open enough to still give him view of the mystic green sky. He took a relaxed breath of air, and let it escape back out his nostrils. He wasn't sure whether or not any of them would be getting back off Katina, but it was pointless stressing over it every second. _Specially when one has this at his disposal._

Falco had separated from Fox and the team as they were descending onto the planet. It was a last second call and considered the most discrete way to stage the Tadpole elsewhere for Fox and Slippy's extraction. Now Falco just rested and waited for the call that would give him his destination. His choice to not stress did not leave him thoughtless, however. He couldn't keep himself from continuously wondering if they were even doing the right thing. He considered Krystal and her life, what she meant to him personally.

Like Fox, he had taking a liking to her straightaway. At every glance, his eyes were met with a breathtaking, beautiful, sexy face and figure with exotic color. She could hold her own in combat and had mastered a mysterious ability to read and send out thoughts. Her personality was adaptable to whoever she was with, making it far too easy to get along with her. She had definitely filled his thoughts whenever they were free. _Great in combat, great at a party, great in bed; We'd be the ideal couple. _Only one misfortune had kept him from her. _Her heart for you, Fox. You were a lucky critter, considering you and I both know I can out charm you any day. What a heart she had for you too, even after you dumped her, she continued to never even glance my way! _It had been easy enough for him to shrug her off though, only feeling envy for Fox being able to win a female that he couldn't.

Falco chose to look at the situation from another angle. _Would I do the same for Katt? _

A loud beeping sounded off from the open cockpit of the Tadpole. Wasting no time, Falco stood up straight, faced the fighter, pulled himself up into the cockpit and dropped into the seat, pressing the control to answer the call as he adjusted himself.

"Yeah, whatta we got?" He asked swiftly.

R.O.B.'s upper body appeared on the small screen on his dashboard. "FOX AND SLIPPY HAVE CHOSEN, AND ARE HEADED TOWARDS, AN EXTRACTION POINT. COORIDINATES ARE BEING SENT TO YOUR ARWING'S MAP SYSTEM NOW. SECONDARY EXTRACTION POINTS ARE BEING SENT AS WELL."

Falco's body threatened to freeze as his mood changed in a flash to surprise and urgency. "They actually did it… I'm on my way right now." He answered as he began pressing more controls and flipping a variety of switches to power on the fighter.

"WE ARE CURRENTLY TAKING OFF AND LEAVING THE PLANET BEFORE WORD SPREADS AND WE ARE CONNECTED TO THE OPERATION. WHEN YOU ASCEND FROM THE PLANET, BE SURE TO CHOOSE AN AREA WITH LITTLE AIR AND SPACE BORN SECURITY. ONCE YOU ESCAPE, FLY TOWARDS VENOM; WE'LL COME TO YOU."

"Whatever works." He answered as the Tadpole became ready for launch and he closed the cockpit. Falco looked down at the screen and saw a notification that coordinates had been received. He touched the icon and a virtual map appeared with multiple points individually labeled with a letter and a number. "Got the coordinates, which dot is the primary?"

"ALPHA ONE IS PRIMARY. BRAVO ONE THROUGH FOUR ARE SECONDARY POINTS. WE WILL CONTACT YOU IF FOX OR SLIPPY UPDATES US ON THE SITUATION."

"Copy that friend, see ya soon."

"GOOD LUCK." With that, the comm terminated and R.O.B. disappeared from the screen. Falco tapped on point alpha one, and the screen instantly focused in on it; displaying a route from the outer entry to the sewers, leading through the tunnels to the point where he would extract Fox and Slippy. With his direction set, Falco pulled back on the Tadpole's control stick and got it airborne; rotating it in the direction of point alpha one. He looked ahead and pondered his situation again. _Would I do the same for Katt?_ He took his right hand off the joystick and placed it on the thruster lever located at the right side of the cockpit. After a few seconds of pondering, he thrust the lever rearward and took off towards the infiltration point. _Maybe… _

…..

As soon as Falco's body had faded from the holographic table, R.O.B. turned and walked over to the Great Fox's controls and began working to get the ship airborne.

Having literally bit her tongue to keep herself quiet during the transmission, Amanda began firing off her questions. "So Slippy _is okay_?!"

"ROGER, HE AND FOX CONTACTED ME. ALL THREE OF US FOUND A FEW SEWER ENTRY POINTS CLOSE TO THEIR LOCATION, AND CHOSE THE BEST ONE. THEY ARE CURRENTLY INBOUND TOWARDS IT."

Amanda didn't look relieved. "Have they been discovered?! Did they find weapons?! What's happening down there?!"

"THEY DID NOT INFORM ME ANYTHING REGARDING THEIR EXACT SITUATION."

Amanda folded her arms and turned away from R.O.B. "Damn it!" Overwhelming sadness and angst filled her face. Amanda closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. "It's okay, it's okay. They've made it this far, they can make it the rest of the way."

Lucy walked over and warmly placed her hand on Amanda's shoulder. "This is Fox and Slippy we're talking about. They have each other's backs, and they'll do whatever it takes to get out; alive."

Amanda gently covered Lucy's hand with her own, but remained silent. The fear of the worst was too strong, and Lucy couldn't blame her in the least. She thought of Fox's uniform she had left back in the shower room, and all the wounds it displayed. _Common Fox, you survived that. You can survive this._

….

Fox walked away from the panel Dalles had used to contact Bowman, that Fox had now used to contact the Great Fox II. Their way out had been decided. They had four backup plans in case the first attempt failed, all that was left was to fight their way to them. Fox had obtained a hand blaster from the guard he had killed, as well as salvage a couple fully loaded power cells for it; slipping them into his left pant pocket. _Should be enough, long as I don't get bogged down in a firefight. _He quickly walked back over to the corpse and knelt down by its side; searching it for anything else he could use.

Slippy had remained at the panel, still milling over their planned routes. "So… how are we getting past the scanners that are getting us into these pump rooms?"

Fox ceased his search, sweat instantly began building on his forehead. _Damn it! I had completely forgotten about the scanners... _He looked the corpse up and down, ending at its hands. His eyes locked onto them, and Fox became completely still.

…...

"Fox?" Slippy asked, growing anxious from lost time.

"You might want to look away." Fox replied sternly.

Slippy's anxiety went up a few levels. "What are you gonna do Fox?"

Fox stood up, stepped on the right hand, and aimed his blaster toward the elbow. "We're taking the hand with us."

Slippy's anxiety rocketed. "Okay Fox, I really think you're-"

Fox explosively turned on his friend. "Slippy, I don't have time for this! Any second now we're going to have other guards knocking down the door. If they're real Cornerian military, they'll arrest us for what we've done! If they're Dash's men, they'll KILL US! I'm going to-you know what?!" Fox aimed his blaster back at the elbow.

Slippy looked away on instinct, and heard five paced shots fire into the flesh. Almost immediately following the shots, the horrifying sound of twisting and tearing flesh and bone fell upon his ears. It was all he needed to visualize what Fox was doing, and it only got worse as he heard Fox begin to stomp on the remainder of the attached limb until it was completely severed.

Slippy was flooded with nausea, and began to rock in different directions on his feet as his vision blurred and his ears filled with static. The feeling paused when he felt two hands placed on his shoulders. The hands rotated his body toward their owner, and he came face to face with a terrified, moist eyed Fox.

"Look Slippy… I'm _sorry_ I snapped at you. I _never_ thought I'd actually do that to you, of all people… but this needs to be done. If I don't escape, if-if _we_… don't escape… Krystal's life will be over; all of this will be in vain. I need your help; I _need_… your help. Please… _please_ help me."

Slippy looked down at the ground and swallowed, trying his best to calm his buzzing head and rolling stomach. As it subsided he was able to gather his mentality. He looked back up at his best friend. _You're still Fox, I can see it. You're just willing to do whatever it takes to protect the one's you love… _Slippy smiled, finding the strength he needed to be confident in his decision. "What can I do?"

Fox breath a sharp sigh of relief, then lowered his head and chuckled before looking back up at Slippy. "I need you to take that arm that I've wrapped in my down jacket and carry it with us."

Slippy's pupils dilated as he looked over at the down jacket now placed beside them; one end was damp with blood, while the other revealed a few fingers of the hand they would need.

"It's that, or you'll need to take the lead and shoot our way out."

Slippy gulped and looked back at Fox, who continued staring at him in patient desperation. Slippy breathed in quickly, then blew it out with force. "When I tell you that you're like a brother to me." He said as he kneeled at the wrapped limb and picked it up with his left hand. "There should be no doubt."

Fox gave a heartfelt smile. "Slippy, I'd believe you from the moment you agreed to join this team."

….

Without skipping a beat, Fox stepped away from his brother and returned to the dead guard. He had already salvaged a taser and a couple flash bangs from the body, now he was aiming for the white BDU jacket; though he cursed himself for taking the hand before removing the coat. _That's what you get for not thinking… Well, you'll just have to deal with a bloody, half a sleeve. _He sat the body up straight and began working the jacket off of the corpse.

"Why are you wasting your time on that? I thought we had to go?!" Slippy exclaimed.

Fox kept working as he answered, "This jacket is going to keep the turrets from shooting at us once Dash has control of them." He successfully pulled the coat from the body, which he let drop as he slipped the coat on himself; ignoring the cold, wet feel of the bloody, right sleeve. "If you feel the shoulders of the jacket, there's a pair of strobe devices that all the automated systems pick up on and recognize as friendly. Until we're able to get one for you, _if_ we are, you'd better stay freaking glued to me!"

Slippy gave a mock salute. "Yes sir!"

Fox smiled. "Good to see you coming to Slip."

Slippy shrugged. "Well, it's either I face death's gate as myself, or lose myself to fear long before I even walk through them."

"Well put, brother." Fox agreed as he ensured all his gear was where he wanted it. Both the taser and the flashbang holsters had been easily pulled from the guard's belt and secured on Fox's belt; he kept all the equipment on his left side. The blaster was able to be squeezed into Fox's own holster, though he had already predetermined that it would remain in his hands until a better weapon was found.

All set, Fox looked over at Slippy. "You ready?"

Slippy had the wrapped limb tucked tightly under his left arm. He gave Fox a confident nod. "Let's get out of here."

Suddenly, both Slippy and Fox fell dead silent as they heard a turret activate in the room. Upon the second Fox recognized the sound, he leapt toward and tackled his brother to the ground, shielding him from the turret's sight. Fox looked up in the direction of the mechanical sounds, and saw it was placed nearly dead center in the ceiling. The turret slowly spun clockwise as it searched the room for a target, but it found none. "It works." Fox whispered with a chuckle, he brought himself up to one knee, lined up the pistol's sights on the turret, and fired three quick shots. The turret had gone haywire with the first shot, searching for a target, the second shot did it damage, and the third maimed it enough to disable it.

Slippy groaned. "Alright… Uh… let's go with plan 'A' now, where I'm glued to your back instead of squashed by your front."

Fox gave another chuckle as he unloaded the current power cell from the laser pistol and loaded a fresh one. "Yeah, sounds-"

The click of a door beginning to open silenced him, the door they had originally came through. Fast as it began to open, Fox ripped a flash bang from his pouch, pulled the pin and chucked it towards the door. He had been quick, but he watched in alarm as a second flash bang was thrown in the room with them as well. "Eyes shut!" He yelled as he dropped back onto Slippy, grabbed and pressed Slippy's head into his shoulder, and buried his own eyes in Slippy's shoulder. The second he was deafened by the bang of the grenade, Fox looked up, got to his feet, and began running to the door; with Slippy following his lead. He knew there would be guards to both sides of the door, and he wasn't sure if what he was about to do would be considered suicide. _Please let that grenade have blinded them! _

Upon reaching the door, Fox threw a rear kick to Slippy's chest, dove onto the floor, and rolled onto his back as he slid out the exit. The second his head entered the hallway, he looked to his left, and saw two disoriented guards trying to regain their composer. Fox zeroed his sights in on the center of their bodies, and fired one shot at each guard. The instant both shots had been sent, he rolled over to his right side and observed three guards. Panic struck him as he observed these guards where actually attempting to hone in on him. Without bothering to perfect his aim, Fox fired off a total of four shots in their direction. To Fox's thrilled adrenaline, all three bodies dropped to the floor. Though he didn't spend any time celebrating; he knew there'd be plenty more on the way.

He got to his feet and went straight back to Slippy, kneeling down to his stunned friend's side. "Are you okay?"

"Just… (cough) one question… Why?!"

Fox looked at Slippy with pity as he switched out the power cells in his hand blaster again. "I know I've already apologized a lot today… I just didn't want you following me out there and getting shot… I wasn't sure yet if you could hear again, nor did I want to openly announce that I was a few feet from the door."

"Okay, good enough." Slippy said, giving Fox a pained enthusiastic expression and a thumbs up. Without warning, the frog rolled over on his side and vomited violently on the floor.

The guilt over everything he had put his friend through, that had now called him brother, burned inside himself. _When we get through this, I'll never ask anything of you again; I swear on my life. _"If there weren't armed soldiers on their way I wouldn't say this, but we gotta go Slippy." Fox offered his hand to him.

Slippy instantly took it, hacking up and spitting out the last of the vile glop as Fox pulled him up. "I'm not out yet." He said, grinning pathetically.

"Good." Fox replied with a nod and a smile before turning back toward the exit. Kneeling at the doorway, he quickly checked the hallway for approaching forces; taking caution not to expose to much of his own head. Upon neither seeing or hearing any threat, Fox sized up the different corpses, grabbed the one closest to Slippy's size by its uniform collar, and dragged it back inside the room. "Get that jacket on." He ordered as he slid the body over towards Slippy, then headed back out to secure an assault blaster rifle he had observed all the response force carrying. After conducting another check of the hallway, Fox stepped out, sheathed the hand blaster he carried, and grabbed a rifle nearest to him. He pulled a couple pouches loaded with assault rifle power cells off one guards belt and secured them on the left side of his own. Switching the first rifle to his left hand, Fox searched for and found a hand blaster secured to one of the soldier's waist holsters. He unsheathed it and checked its power cell. _Fully charged. _He searched the corpse further and found another couple power cells for the laser pistol. _Awesome. _

Suddenly, Fox's ears twitched at picking up the light sound of boots traveling across the solid floors. He wasted no time and darting back into the room he had been in, finding that Slippy had successfully removed the jacket from the body and just begun securing it on himself. "They're coming Slip; sounds like another group. We've got to get out of here before they corner us again."

"Got it." Slippy anxiously answered as he hurried his pace beyond his already rushed attempt to get the jacket on. With both arms successfully through, Slippy took the laser pistol and ammunition that Fox was holding out to him.

"When we're traveling," Fox began instructing, "I'll watch the way we're headed, and you keep a solid eye behind us; the whole time. Agreed?"

Slippy nodded, then took a deep breath. "I don't know how much good I'm going to do you." Slippy said nervously.

"Just keep one firm hand on the arm, and the other on your weapon." Fox responded over his shoulder, already headed towards the door. Suddenly, he heard another door open; the door in the center of the room's balcony.

Fox whirled over toward the sound and watched a guard take aim at Slippy. Instantaneously, Fox set his sights on the guard and pulled the trigger.

…..

Slippy's heart stopped and his body numbed as he watched the soldier that was less than a second from killing him withdraw from Fox's fire; Slippy's brain instantly registered the amount of the jeopardy the two of them were in. However, to his own disbelief, he found himself rushing to Fox's side.

"They're backing into cover." Fox informed him. "Start heading down the hallway, I'll keep them suppressed!" He commanded; continuing to fire short, controlled bursts at the intruding soldiers.

Slippy kicked into gear and stepped into the hall, rounding the end of the exit door Fox was using as cover and hugging the wall to his right as he began traveling away from Fox. _Same as an Arwing, it's the same thing as when you're in an Arwing… _"I'm moving Fox!" Slippy yelled out at the last second.

"Roger!" Came Fox's reply.

Slippy slowed his pace to give Fox time to reach him, keeping a sharp eye on the path ahead of him. _Only, you have no shield to stop the blasts… _Slippy nearly jumped when he felt Fox's back come in contact with his own. _Crap… just might die today._

…..

"Swap me directions." Fox ordered in a lower voice.

Slippy didn't even respond as he rotated towards the wall while Fox went the other way around him. Slippy completely faced the direction Fox had and brought his blaster up to where Fox had been firing; giving off a couple shots when he saw their attackers peak out the door they had just exited.

"Great job Slippy." Fox complemented. "Don't let them have as much as-" Fox's fell silent as he watched a soldier pop out of the corner ahead of him. In the split second Fox had before the dog had its rifle trained on him, Fox fired a clean burst to the soldier's head. The dog dropped, and Fox rushed to the corner; fighting victory's intoxicating sting that threatened to take down his guard.

As he approached, Fox used his left hand to secure his second flash bang. Unwilling to set down his rifle, he bit down on the ring of the pin and tugged as his left hand pulled the body of the grenade away. The pin refused to give easily, and Fox began to wince as his teeth and gums voiced their pain. _Common…! _His head swung back as the pin finally came free, and Fox counted off three seconds before throwing the flash bang down the intersecting corridor by bouncing it off its opposing wall.

The grenade ignited the moment it left Fox's sight, and he once again he took the gamble that he had successfully blinded whoever else was around the corner. With a split second glance back at Slippy to make sure he was still in control of their rear, Fox leaned around the corner and lifted his rifle's holographic sight to his eye.

_Three total, all staggering blind; get the closest first._ Fox thought as he fired a couple blasts at the center mass of a guard on the opposing side of the hallway Fox had aimed down, about three meters from him. _Now to the second on my side of the hallway._ Fox snapped his aim over to the hostile and held down the trigger until his target dropped. Fox observed a fourth guard directly behind the second, and the third was another two meters back and in the middle of the passageway. _Hit the one you're already aimed at-fuck! _Fox ducked back behind cover as the two remaining guards had dropped to the ground and began blind firing in Fox's direction. _Stay in control, stay in control! _

"You hit Fox?" He heard Slippy ask.

"Nope, stay put!" Fox quickly replied. _They're firing upwards, please don't let me regret this! _Fox kneeled then leapt out into the hallway. Once his side had impacted the ground, he fired into the displayed shoulder, neck, and jaw area of both targets before they could adjust. He fired the last shot as he slid to a stop, and instantly got back to his feet and began headed down the hall way, hugging the wall as he strode. "What's the status of the guards on our six?"

"Two guards attempted to come out, I shot one and the other ducked back in cover before I could get a lock on him." Slippy reported as he took cover behind the other side of the corner he was at, firing another couple warning shots where he held the first set of guards at bay; proceeding to switch out the power cell in his own hand blaster.

"Keep your eye out, a few of them might be going around." _Hopefully there's not too much more, our door should be just ahead. _Fox looked up to the passage ceiling and noticed the small, black domes the indicated security cameras. His nerves sent what felt like a bolt through his heart as he slid to a stop. _They still know where we are… where we're headed… _He raised his blaster and attempted to shoot it out, but the lasers failed to sear through the material. _They'll be setting something up just ahead, preparing to cut us off, then assault us from behind. _He quickly milled over all their sewer access points, recalling one a few hallways back. _We've had to already depleted a good amount of their security, the heart of what's left will be up ahead. If we move quick enough… _

Fox went with his instinct, and instantly darted back in the direction they had come. "Let's move Slip!" Fox caught Slippy's bewildered expression as he passed him.

"Fox, what the heck are we doing?!" Slippy yelled out as he nearly lost his footing taking off after Fox.

_Get ready, one most likely coming down the hall. _Fox brought his rifle's sites to his eye as he slowed and leaned out the corner he was intending to round. _Crap! _He ducked back behind his side of the cover, just dodging the flurry of blasts that flew by. _He was already on the ground. They must've given him the heads up, and now he's got us cornered! The rest will be here any moment! _Fox jerked his head over towards Slippy. "Keep him shooting at this corner?!"

Slippy gave Fox a brief, confused stare before simply shrugging his shoulders and switching positions with Fox at the corner. Fox slowly began walking towards the other wall of the hallway him and Slippy were in until he had the guard in view. The guard fired more shots at Fox; who retreated back a few steps. "Now Slippy!"

Slippy leaned out the corner and fired his pistol at the guard. The instant he did so, Fox dove back out into the intersection, rolled to his feet, and squeezed his trigger a soon as his sights were back on the guard. Unable to switch back to Fox from Slippy's position fast enough, all the guard's limbs fell flat on the ground as life left his body. Fox slowly lowered his rifle from his eye; feeling a sharp, icy stab at his conscience. _All these lives… I've taken them so easily… _

Slippy started on down the hall, but stopped in his tracks and looked back at Fox in panic when he noticed Fox wasn't following. "Aren't we going this way now?! Bravo three?!"

Fox shook himself free of his thoughts to get moving and acknowledge Slippy's question. "Fast as we can!" The two brothers took off down the intersecting hall, but Fox's guilt ridden conscience still plagued him. _I'm not in an Arwing, I'm looking into the eyes of those I kill... _Fox stared at the corpse as Slippy and himself ran by it. _Not machines... Living beings!_ Fox looked ahead as the two rounded another corner into the next hall; slowing enough to check and ensure it was clear before proceeding. _Why is it so easy?! _

The door the two were headed towards was now in sight. _It doesn't matter... only one thing matters._ Fox fought to keep his pace steady and controlled, but he couldn't help speeding up in desperation to escape; leaving Slippy wheezing as he tried to keep up._ We're getting out of here, and I'm freeing Krys- _Fox heard a click and the sliding of an opening door to his left. As he looked over, he didn't even feel the impact of the dog that charged out and rammed into his side. Fox was taken to the ground and the dog instantly began working to get a dominant fighting position on Fox. Fox fought the oncoming shock of the blow as he countered the dogs attempts to pin him down. The dog spoke, and Fox instantly recognized the voice.

"I don't know what the fuck your game is Fox, but I'm not letting you go any further!"

Fox met the eyes of a brown bulldog; his focus shattered. _Bill?! _Fox quickly lost any control he had as the bulldog, wearing a similar uniform as Captain Dalles, took advantage of his disoriented state.

Bill Grey spoke again. "I hope you know I take zero enjoyment in this!"

Fox grit his teeth. _What are you doing Fox, fight! _

Bill had him on his back, and was working to roll him onto his front when Fox heard Slippy yell out "Let him go Bill! We don't want any quarrel with you!"

Bill stern, amused voice followed. "_You're_ the one who's _truly_ shocked me Slippy!"

Fox felt Bill's grip loosen as he confronted Slippy. _Here's your chance Fox! _

Bill continued; the sternness in his voice slowly taking over. "Put the gun down Slip, you aren't going to pull that trigger."

Fox rolled himself to his side and pushed off of Bill's leg with his arms as he slid his hips and legs out front underneath Bill's. Fox quickly repeated the action before Bill could regain his position over Fox. Fox proceeded to draw his legs in and kick them straight into Bill's chest, sending him flying backward. Fox quickly got to his feet and grabbed his rifle that had been knocked from his hands, wasting no time on setting its sights on Bill; who had barely got his feet back underneath him. The two ceased all movement as they stared cautiously at each other. Out of the corner of his eye, Fox observed the additional intelligence soldiers and contract employees watching from the doorway. "Any of you move," Fox warned, keeping Bill in his sights, "You lose your lives."

Fox called out to Slippy. "Slippy, go get that door open."

"On it." Slippy replied shakily.

Fox slowly started backing toward bravo three, keeping his blaster trained on Bill; who's amusement was gone.

"Fox, what the hell is going on?! You would really kill a friend?!"

Fox kept backing towards Slippy, but his stone expression remained on Bill. "You have no idea what I've already done. You're_ already _good as dead. Look at the soldiers in the room you leapt out of. Today, half of them will betray you, and every other loyal Cornerian."

Bill uttered a concerned chuckle. "Fox, you've lost it! Common buddy, let me help; why are you doing this?!"

Slippy butted in. "It's open Fox, let's go!"

"Commin Slip." Fox felt his heel touch the base of the doorway. "I'm trying to save a life that I've destroyed. It won't be long until you see the proof in my warning." Fox paused, fighting memories of the past friendship that threatened to break him. The coldness in his eyes softened as grave concern leaked into them. "Please... be careful."

"Fox, to your left!" Slippy yelled out, lifting his hand blaster and firing shots in the direction he warned of.

Fox turned and dove the rest of the way into bravo three, right as his position was assaulted by blasts from approaching security guards. Slippy ducked in with him and went to close and secure the door behind them via a control panel similar to the one on the other side of the wall. Fox worked his way to his feet, only to be knocked back to the ground by a similar force as he had been earlier. He had managed to land on his left side, and looked up too little surprise at the culprit. "_Damn it_ Bill, get out of here!" Fox growled and grunted as he fought Bill's continued attempt to roll him to his front.

"I'm sorry Fox, but you give me no choice when you come in here and start killing Cornerian soldiers!"

Fox's fury began build. "You have no idea-" With all the force he could muster, he broke free from Bill's grip and rotated himself onto his back by thrusting his left fist straight into Bill's jaw. Bill gave a sharp whine from the blow, and before he could respond, Fox brought his right knee rocketing into Bill's rump; sending the dog forward till his skull smacked the ground. "-how many of _your Cornerian_ soldiers-" Fox quickly used both his arms and his right leg to toss Bill overhead; off of himself. "-are about to _kill you_!" Bill went crashing onto his back as Fox got his own feet underneath himself and searched for his rifle. Slippy had managed to get the door closed right behind Bill, and the only light in the room currently came from the panel Slippy was working at; Fox's assault blaster had slid off somewhere in the darkness surrounding him. He instantly went to pull his hand blaster, but Bill had gotten to his feet and rushed toward him just as he had it unsheathed. Bill secured both of Fox's wrists with his hands and smashed him up against a trio of large pipes that ran vertical from the floor up toward the ceiling; causing Fox to drop his hand blaster.

Bill worked to keep Fox pinned against the pipes. "I want to believe you Fox, but that's one strong accusation, I'm gonna need proof."

The ticking clock brought Fox to his limit. He tried to strike Bill's legs or stomach with his knees and legs, but Bill kept his body distanced from Fox and moved his own lower limbs to block Fox's attempts. Fox bared his teeth as his frustration climaxed. _Life is already against me; you are the last thing I need to fight right now! _Exploding in rage, Fox sent his forehead smashing into the roof of Bill's snout.

Bill whined, grabbed his bleeding muzzle, and stumbled away from Fox.

Fox took the opportunity to lay everything he had into the bulldog's body; ignoring the pulsing headache coming on from using his own skull as a weapon. "YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE ALL THE PROOF YOU NEED WITHIN THE HOUR!" He barked as he threw fist after fist into varying locations on Bill's figure.

Bill countered a few of his blows, but the pain from his snout burned and blurred his vision from the building moisture in his eyes; handicapping him in the fight.

Fox went to knock him backward by thrusting a left side-kick to Bill's chest, but Bill dodged the blow by stepping back and rotating his chest with the kick before it could make contact. Bill grabbed the leg Fox had used and pushed it back toward him; causing him to fall back to the ground. Bill dropped to his knee and began working again for a dominant position over Fox. "You expect me to just believe that half the people in this building are going to just start killing everyone?!"

Fox used his lower limbs to block Bill from straddling his midsection as well as keep him distanced enough to lessen the power behind any of the blows Bill made toward his face. "Believe it or not, it's happening! Remember Dash Bowman?!"

Bill had begun sending jabs at Fox's stomach that Fox had been shielding with his own forearms, but mentioning Bowman's name caused the bulldog to freeze just long enough for Fox to take control of the situation. As Bill's eyes widened, Fox brought his right leg up and around Bill's head before thrusting the leg outward into the right side of Bill's skull; sending the left side of Bill's head smashing into the grated metal floor; his body proceeding to limply roll onto its back. Fox stood up and looked down at Bill. The blood from his nose had trailed all over his face from being tossed around. Fox's memories plagued him again as he looked at the friend he had just brutalized; knowing he still couldn't leave him conscious. "Forgive me for this…" Fox swung his right leg back.

Bill held out his palm toward Fox, fighting his spinning head. "Wait…"

Fox had already sent the kick and landed it straight into Bill's right cheek. Bill's head snapped over to its left side, and his body followed as he clenched the right side of his face in agony.

_I'm sorry, I can't waste any more time… _Fox instantly looked around and called out to Slippy as he walked back over to the pipes Bill had pinned him against; where he dropped his hand blaster.

….

Soon as Slippy had overwritten the door's lock to remain closed, he dropped the severed arm he'd been carrying and looked over to where Fox and Bill were struggling. His conscience told him to move, but his body remained put. _I know I should help… _He thought, wrestling with his own conscience, _but Bill's right, I can't do anything! I wasn't near ready to pull the trigger back there! _He looked down at his hand blaster. _Am I right for that? Am I the one still maintaining my sanity? _He looked back over at Fox, observing his aggressive expression and listening in on what was being said.

"I want to believe you Fox, but that's one strong accusation; I'm gonna need proof."

"YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE ALL THE PROOF YOU NEED WITHIN THE HOUR!"

Slippy gulped. _Dash Bowman… Krystal… the corrupt Cornerians… _Slippy's grip grew tighter on his pistol. _Fox is just fighting everything pitted against him, not like he isn't trying to save Bill either… _His grip grew shaky. _But I still can't do it, I can't threaten Bill; can't even bluff him. _He looked down at the ground, unable to shake all the memories he had of him, Fox, and Bill Grey.

They all had trained together, worked together, and played together at the Cornerian Flight Academy. Fox and Slippy had been friends long prior, but Fox met Bill towards the beginning of the academy, and the bulldog became a part of their group.

"Guys, we should totally go out and hike or surf the lake or something this weekend." Bill had stated during one of their many relaxed sit downs in either Fox's, Slippy's, or Bill's dorm room.

Slippy sighed. "You guys feel free, but count me out. I'm beat from this week's PRT" (Physical Readiness Training).

Bill chuckled. "Aw, common Toad; this week wasn't all that bad."

Slippy chuckled, unamused. "Tell that to my aching muscles my friend."

Bill looked over at Fox. "How about it McCloud? Bro?" He inquired, sending an air-fist into Fox's upper arm. "You game?"

Fox briefly looked down in thought. "Eh, we'll give Slippy a break. Can we maybe postpone hiking till next weekend and do something a bit more easy-going?"

"Yeah pal!" Slippy felt slight relief that Bill sounded equally as enthusiastic about changing ideas. "I know of some sick action and horror flicks coming to theaters, we could go check one of those out; get a decent bite to eat and everything!"

"Gets us off the base either way." Fox said, glancing questionably at Slippy.

Slippy smiled and gave a thumbs up. "Now that, I'm game for."

The trio transitioned to discussing which film they wanted to see; playfully debating whether or not each other's choices were poor. Eventually the three agreed on a horror; one Slippy secretly still loathed, but one he could settle for and just deal with a few nightmares. The group fell silent for a few moments until Bill sighed and spoke back up.

"Any uh you guys ever miss the family back at home?" Bills face instantly had turned somber as he looked over to Fox and held out a staying hand. "Dude, I'm so sorry… I didn't-" His gaze fell to the ground as he breathed a sigh. "I should've shut my mouth bro…"

Fox gave a light chuckle. "It's okay Grey, just because I have the shitty history doesn't mean you guys can't miss your family's out loud. Fact, Slippy's family-" Fox paused and looked over at Slippy. "I just can't get used to calling you Toad, can I?"

Slippy merrily shrugged. "Not like I've been doing any better calling you McCloud."

Bill laughed. "Wish I could relate to you guys, but…" He said as he slowly leaned back onto the side of the bedframe he was near and took in a brief inhale through his teeth.

Fox smirked at him, slightly shaking his head. "Anyway, the Toads are my family now. It's just easier for me because my brother came with me." Fox glanced over at Slippy and smiled warmly; which Slippy returned.

Bill grinned in admiration. "I'm jealous guys, you two really have something special. Don't think I can say that about any of my relationships, even in my own family." Bill rested his forearms on his knees and let his head fall backwards until it bumped the bed frame. "Still, I miss my old man. He was my rock, built me up to the soldier I'm becoming today."

_Boy is that true. _Slippy thought.

Bill had always been the more successful of the two of them. He fit the frame for the Cornerian army's perfect soldier; holding the look, the physique, the skill, and even the charisma. He could make strong connections with just about anyone, even leaders and high ranking officers; leaving Fox and Slippy to share him with the other successful pilots in training.

"Didn't take you long to get promoted to squad leader." Fox commented during another one of their gatherings at the base's dining facility. "Congrats pal." He added sincerely.

"Nah bro, I just got lucky. Right place, right time; you know how that goes."

"And an _in_ with the platoon sergeant." Fox playfully jabbed.

"Luck dude, I happened to be the one he saw busting out good pushups during PRT. He's been referencing me in front of the platoon and striking up conversations with me since; giving me the opportunity to build myself up in his eyes."

_Yeah… _Slippy thought. _If only it were as simple, for Fox and I, as going unnoticed. _

Fox had been born with his father's wings, but also his personality and willingness to take risks. The traits of his father drove him to bend some of the in-flight formations and procedures set in place by the Cornerian military. Slippy showed plenty of skill as a mechanic, but regardless of his passion to learn to fly, he never could quite keep up with everyone else in the academy. So the two of them had faded to the back of the crowd while Bill, and the rest of the pilots who preferred to fit in, quickly rose through the ranks. However, Bill never abandoned Fox or Slippy; and the three remained good friends until the day came for Fox to chase what he had joined the academy to do in the first place.

Slippy was thrown back into the present as he watched Bill catch a kick Fox sent his way and use it to bring Fox back to the ground. "You expect me to just believe that half the people in this building are going to just start killing everyone?!" Slippy suddenly observed the red liquid strewn across Bill's muzzle

Spine against the ground, Fox refused to give up his fight against Bill. The passionate fury in his eye's was extinguishable by no one; completely oblivious to the scarlet fluid dripping onto his face from Bill's snout. "Believe it or not, it's happening! Remember Dash Bowman?!" Fox grunted out.

Slippy clenched his fists again. _I can't just keep standing here. If Bill knew our situation, he… he would want us to fight. He would want us to try to stop Bowman. I have to do something!_

Slippy instantly started searching for the way into the sewers from the room they were in. _I may not be able to fight Bill, but I can be ready for when Fox beats him... I hope… _Slippy remembered all the times Bill had challenged Fox to rugby or football.

"Common McCloud," Bill would beg teasingly. "You're never going to get better if you don't keep playing."

Fox would smirk and lift his hands in surrender. "Sorry Grey, can't tell you how many times I've heard those words. I'll play, but I'm warning you: good chance this time won't be any different than the last."

"Dude, it's no wonder you don't get better with that attitude." Bill would playfully challenge.

Fox gave his usual shrug. "I go into every game with an open mind Grey. You should know by now that I'm always trying my best. What you refuse to accept is that I'm just not sports oriented; don't really even enjoy them anyway."

The debate would go on and on throughout their months at the flight academy, only to be repeated in different words. Slippy swallowed as he glanced over at the modern Bill and Fox. Bill had frozen in place as Fox used his leg to bring the bulldog's head to the ground. Fox got to his feet in a second. Slippy began to breathe a sigh of relief, but all his oxygen left him from what came next.

"Forgive me for this…" Fox said with remorse.

Slippy knew Fox had to gain victory over Bill somehow, but he never could have imagined it in the way that Fox did. He wished he could've looked away for the bone shattering kick he delivered to Bill's cheek. _Bill even tried to stop him… _Slippy's eyes danced between the fetal curled bulldog and the fox that stood above him. _This really is a nightmare… _

Slippy heard Fox call out to him as he walked over to a certain side of the room; searching the ground for something.

Slippy looked back at Bill and saw a trail of blood trickling from his mouth, down through the grated floor. After a couple seconds, Slippy found the voice to answer. "Here…"

Fox looked in his direction, observed him, then went back to searching; instantaneously bending down and picking up a hand blaster off the ground, sheathing it as he spoke. "Alright Slippy… you have to make a choice right here." Fox kept searching the ground for another item. "If you hate me… you need to take your blaster and stop me now." Fox leaned down and picked up the blaster rifle he was searching for. They both were interrupted by the sound of a cutting torch getting fired up behind the door Slippy had programmed to remain closed. Fox continued speaking, bringing Slippy's attention back to him. "But if not, I need you to accept all that I've done and keep moving."

"Or what?"

Fox came to an instant halt and looked over at Slippy.

Slippy gulped as his palms started to sweat; he clenched them tightly. "Are… are you going to leave me behind?" His voice began to rise as he spoke. "And… if I try to stop you, will you just take me out; just like Bill there?!"

Fox remained completely silent and still; staring with wide, stunned eyes at his brother.

Slippy clenched his teeth in terror. "You… you know as well as I do that Krystal wouldn't want this… yet you persist on diving deeper, for her."

Fox's afflicted expression was unreadable, but by the way Fox had tensed, Slippy could tell that his words hit Fox like a bullet. He swallowed his fear to finish his sentence. "S-so brother… how much further are you willing to go?"


End file.
